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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

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Chap.. Copyright No. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



The Bible in Lesson and Story 




THE CHRIST-CHILD. 

From a painting by Itte7ibach. 



The 



Bible in Lesson and Story 



For use in Sunday Schools, 

Junior Young People's Societies, 

and in the Home 



By 
Ruth Mowry Brown 




United Society of Christian Endeavor 



Boston and Chicago 



^ 



38319 



Copyright, i8gg, 

BY THE 

United Society of Christian Endeavor 



^CQP^sH^&iVES, 



1899 




ot Coot 






&&' 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 027552 



Colonial Press : 
Electrotyped and Printed by 
C. H. Simonds <5h> Co. 
Boston, Mass., U. S. A. 



TO 

THE MEMORY OF MY 

WHOSE LIFE AND TEACHINGS 
MADE POSSIBLE THIS LITTLE BOOK 



PREFACE. 

A wise man has said, " Give me the first ten years 
of a child's life, and I care not who has the training 
of the rest of his life." We may not go so far as to 
be regardless of the later training, but it is undeni- 
able that what is learned during the years of early 
childhood gains such a hold upon a child's nature 
that it cannot be easily obliterated. It is also true 
that this is the time when right impressions are the 
most easily produced. This is the golden opportu- 
nity for telling the Bible stories. It is a much more 
important time for impressing the truth that lies 
back of the story. Too often is the Bible story told 
in such a way as to give only individual facts to the 
child rather than to teach the valuable lesson that 
underlies the tale. In this book the author has 
endeavored to keep in mind the underlying truth 
at all points, and to present the lessons in such a 
manner that the child shall receive the truth, and 
that it shall delight rather than repel him. Im- 
pressed with the necessity of such lessons for her 
own use with children, the author prepared and 
used them herself, and now gives them to the public 
in the hope that others will find them of service. 

All children love the story, and the story is one of 
the most effective means of leading the child in the 
right way. Children with bright, active minds often 
object to the "goody-goody" story, or to the con- 
stant use of stories with the moral in plain sight. 
Great pains have been taken to give such stories as 

7 



8 PREFACE. 

shall point the truth of the lesson without offend- 
ing the child's rights or wounding his natural dignity. 

If we would remember that "the Spirit of God 
moves upon the child's spirit as the ocean sways 
the seaweed," then we should bend all our energies 
to bring to the child all the beautiful waves that God 
has set in motion, and not stand aside and let God's 
Spirit work alone ; much less should we hinder the 
work. We watch the wave as it lightly moves the 
seaweed ; but we never know where or how far 
it reaches, or how many other pieces of seaweed it 
gently sways as it flows on throughout time. We 
can give to the child some little idea of one of God's 
wonderful truths, but we cannot follow it through 
the child's life or know how many other lives it may 
touch. 

If the children can be made to feel something of 
" God's wonderful power," to know him as God, then 
a long step has been taken toward reverence, toward 
love to God, toward right living in general. Miss 
Wiltse says : " The child sees men and women, 
fathers, mothers, and children, in the stars ; . . . love 
is the element in which the stars exist. Mother love 
leads to God love, and the child climbs from his 
mother's arms beyond the stars, finally reaching the 
abstract knowledge that only that which is a reflec- 
tion of God will abide eternally, and that which re- 
flects spirit is spirit. There is a significance in the 
child's desire to reach the stars which we would 
better gravely consider than laugh at, either thought- 
lessly or contemptuously. The soul that holds its 
aspirations in spite of all temporary and temporal 
hindrances will as assuredly find its way back to 
God as the stars move in their appointed ways. 
Shall we not rather help than hinder the child's 
aspirations ? " 

Jesus Christ said, "The sabbath was made for 



PREFACE. 9 

man, and not man for the sabbath." Is it not equally 
true that the Bible was made for man, and not man 
for the Bible ? Then let us select for the children 
such lessons and stories as shall be of the most bene- 
fit to them. Let us omit all tales of bloodshed and 
horror, all stories of sin, as far as possible ; and let 
us give the children the bright and beautiful which 
lead to right and noble thoughts and living. Let 
us fill the children's minds so full of the good and 
true that there shall be no room for wickedness. 

Grateful recognition is made of valuable help re- 
ceived from Mr. and Mrs. Arthur May Mowry, and 
Miss Margaret McCloskey, who have read the manu- 
script and offered excellent suggestions. Thanks are 
also due to the following for their kind permission to 
use their stories : Elizabeth E. Foulke, and Silver, 
Burdett & Co., author and publishers of " Twilight 
Stories"; Harriet A. Cheever, and the Congrega- 
tional Sunday-School and Publishing Society, author 
and publishers of " Little Jolliby's Christmas " and 
"The Fairies of Fern Dingle"; and W. A. Wilde 
& Co. 



SUGGESTIONS. 

These lessons and stories are equally well adapted 
for use in the home, where the mother gives them to 
the children ; and in Sunday schools and young 
people's societies, where the teacher presents the 
lesson to a class. It is hoped that mothers as well 
as superintendents will appreciate the suggestions 
for occupations in connection with the lessons. The 
author has tried to give directions that shall be plain 
enough to be easily followed, but the mother or the 
teacher may often prefer to change the occupation 
to suit her individual children or her resources. In 
each lesson the occupation is intended for the chil- 
dren ; that is, it is intended that the children shall 
do the work under the guidance of teacher or mother. 
For instance, in the lesson on Isaac, let the children 
build the well. Give each child a block, and direct 
him where to place it. When the well is built, and 
the children understand how the water was drawn, 
let one of the children move up to the well whatever 
is to be used to represent Abraham's servant ; then 
another child should move toward the well from the 
other direction whatever represents Rebekah. As 
to the elaborateness of the figures used to represent 
persons and different objects, it will depend upon the 
teacher's resources. Real figures of men can be 
employed, but children will be just as much interested 
by the use of a stick of wood with a base to enable 
it to stand ; their imagination will do the rest. The 
servant can have a camel upon which he is supposed 
to be riding, or the children can imagine the camel. 



12 SUGGESTIONS. 

There is nothing arbitrary about the use of these 
objects. The author has given the occupations as 
suggestions, and has left to the teacher the selection 
of material. If the lessons are to be used where the 
occupations are not desired, these can be omitted, 
as the lessons and stories are complete without them. 

It is hoped that the teachers will study the lessons 
so carefully that they will not only get the thought 
in mind, but will also acquire something of the child- 
like style of telling the story, because it is important 
to make the lesson simple and interesting to the 
children. Many teachers think the best method is to 
tell the lesson story first in its fulness, and then go 
over it again as the children use the objects of the 
occupation. In this way the children give their 
whole attention to the telling of the lesson the first 
time, and are quite inclined to be attentive, as they 
know that the occupations will follow immediately. 
This gives the teacher an opportunity to review the 
various points during the occupation. 

The first eight lessons, which relate to the creation, 
teach God's wonderful power. The stories connected 
with these lessons illustrate separate truths, as given 
in the following list. The last thirty-two truths are 
found in both lesson and story. 

TRUTHS. 

1. God has wonderful power. 

2. God shapes our lives. 

3. God is always giving. 

4. God's plan is best. 

5. Unselfishness brings joy. 

6. We cannot know what is best for ourselves. 

7. We should be kind to animals. 

8. Right living brings happiness. 

9. A contented disposition is a blessing. 



SUGGESTIONS. 1 3 

10. We should reverence God's law. 

ii. Sin brings unhappiness. 

12. Work is a gift from God. 

13. Trifles make perfection. 

14. God keeps his promises. 

15. God gives new life. 

16. We all influence others. 

1 7. Love is a great power. 

1 8. Giving is a pleasure. 

19. Brotherly love permits no wrong thoughts. 

20. God overrules for our good. 

21. Sin leaves a scar. 

22. We should give implicit obedience. 

23. Laws are necessary. 

24. We should have love for God and man. 

25. We should reverence God's house. 

26. We should show our thankfulness. 

27. We should be God's soldiers. 

28. We should choose right companions. 

29. God answers prayer. 

30. We should use our gifts for others. 

31. Brotherly love is kind. 

32. God is our Shepherd. 

33. We should give our best for God. 

34. God knows our thoughts. 

35. God will provide. 

36. We should remember mother's teaching. 

37. We should never taste liquor. 

38. Christ is needed. 

39. Christ is promised. 

40. The Christ-child fulfils the promise. 



CONTENTS. 



LESSON 
I. 


Creation . . . 
Story — The Stone-cutter . 


PAGE 
21 
24 


II. 


Clay ... 

Story — The Story the Vase Told 


28 
30 


III. 


Dry Land ....... 

Story — The Wonderful Story 


34 
37 


IV. 


Growth of Plants .... 
Story — The Milkweed Seeds 


40 
43 


V. 


The Sun, Moon, and Stars 

Story — The Legend of the Diamond 
Dipper 


46 
49 


VI. 


Sea Life 

Story — The Three Trouts . 


52 
54 


VII. 


Animal Life 

Story — A Mongrel's Memories . 


. 58 
61 


VIII. 


Man 

Story — Philly's Fairies 


65 
67 


IX. 


Contentment ..... 

Story — Suppose ■. 


7i 
• 74 


X. 


The Seventh Day .... 
Story — Carl's Sunday .... 


77 
79 


XI. 


Sin 

Story — The Fairy and the Gnome 


. 86 
83 


XII. 


Work 

Story — Amy Stewart .... 


. 89 
. 92 


XIII. 


Cain and Abel .... 
Story — The Immortal Fountain 

J 5 


. 94 

• 97 



i6 



CONTENTS. 



LESSON 

XIV. 
XV. 


Noah . , 

Stories — The Rainbow Pilgrimag 
Iris Bridge . 
Easter ' 

Story — The Wonderful Change 


'e . 


XVI. 


Abraham 

Story — Rupert's Dream 




XVII. 


Isaac 

Story — The Children's Hour 




XVIII. 


Jacob 

Stories — In Heaven . 
Star Dollars . 




XIX. 


Joseph the Boy 

Story — The Lily-Pipe . 




XX. 


Joseph the Ruler 
Story — Sulky Sibyl 




XXI. 


Joseph's Brethren 

Story — The Hitching-Post . 




XXII. 


Moses 

Story — Just as Well . 




XXIII. 


The Wilderness ... 
Story — The Daisy Dance . 




XXIV. 


The Ten Commandments 
Story — Which Loved Best ? 




XXV. 


The Tabernacle . 
Story — May at Church 




XXVI. 


Joshua 

Story — God Will Know 




XXVII. 


The Fall of Jericho . 
Story — A True Soldier 




OCVIII. 


Ruth ..... 
Story — Master Don't- Want-To . 




XXIX. 


Samuel . . . . 
Story — Mary's Daily Bread 




XXX. 


David and Saul . 

Story — The Bird and the Smile 




XXXI. 


David and Jonathan 

Story — Spot, Smut, and Sly 







CONTENTS. 






17 


LESSON 

XXXII. 


The Shepherd Psalm . 
Story — The Lost Sheep 






PAGE 
'206 
209 


XXXIII. 


Solomon's Temple . 
Story — Joe's Lily 






2IO 
213 


XXXIV. 


Solomon's Proverbs 

Story — Thought Echoes 






2l6 
218 


XXXV. 


Elijah .... 
Story — The Open Door 






221 

223 


XXXVI. 


The Little Maid . • . 
Story — A Japanese Story 






226 
229 


XXXVII. 


Daniel .... 
Story — Nat's Decision 






233 
236 


XXXVIII. 


Isaiah .... 

Story — Little Jolliby's Story 






239 

242 


XXXIX. 


John 

Story — The New Song 






245 
247 


XL. 


The Babe Jesus 

Story — Glory to God . 






250 
253. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The Christ-Child 

From a painting by Ittenbach. 

Golden Leaves . 

From a painting byJ.E. Grace. 

Peace Be to This House . 

From a painting by Dobson. 

The Guardian Angel 

From a painting by B. Plockhorst. 

Madonna and Child . 

From a painting by Roberto Ferruzzi. 

Rebecca at the Well 

From a painting by Frederick Goodall. 

Finding of Moses 

From a painting by Delaroche. 

Ruth . . . 

From a painting by Bruck-Lajos. 

The Good Shepherd . 

From a painting by B. Plockhorst. 

The Pitcher of Tears 

From a painting by Paul Thumann. 

St. John and the Lamb 

From a painting by Murillo. 

Holy Night 

From a painting by Havenith. 



Frontispiece 

Facing Page 40 

65 

83 

94 

122 

150 
184 
206 
221 
245 
250 



THE 

BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 



LESSON I. 
CREATION. 

" I am God, and there is none else." — Isa. 45 : 22. 

A long time ago, long before your papa can 
remember, or your grandpa either, so long ago even 
that no person was living, there were no houses or 
fences, no churches or schoolhouses. No trees, no 
plants, no grass, no dirt, no rocks, were to be seen. 
No animals roamed the earth ; no birds flew in the 
air ; no fish swam in the sea. No sounds of living 
beings were to be heard. There were no floating 
clouds, no bright stars, no pretty moon. The beauti- 
ful sun did not shine, and no snow or rain fell. No 
light shone through the darkness. There was no 
land or water, no earth such as we live upon. Our 
world did not exist. All was quiet and still. 

There was but one thing living anywhere in all 
space, and that was God. No one else existed, and 
he had all power and wisdom and might. He had 
always been, and always will be. He was not like 
man, who must eat and drink and sleep, and who gets 
tired. He was God. He knew everything, and had 
such power as we cannot understand. He could 
make a beautiful world like ours. He could create 



22 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

the stars and sun and moon. He could make the 
grass and trees grow. He could make men and 
women and little children. Time made no differ- 
ence to him, for he had been from everlasting and 
will be forever ; and therefore he need not hurry or 
hasten in anything. Thus, when God made this 
beautiful, wonderful earth upon which we now live, 
he was in no haste to have it finished. It was years 
and years, thousands of years, in making, and ages 
and ages in becoming ready for man to live upon ; 
and God wished it to be so. God knew all the won- 
derful things that should be upon this earth, and he 
planned them all for the good of men and women 
and the dear little children who he knew would 
sometime live here. 

We do not know very much about the beginning 
of the world, but in the Bible it says : " In the 
beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And 
the earth was waste and void ; and darkness was 
upon the face of the deep." We do not know how 
long a time this took, but we may be sure that God 
did not hurry his work. All was done in the best 
possible manner. • This was the beginning. There 
was nothing before this except God, and he had 
always been. In the beginning God created. Did 
he have any help? No, God alone did it. There 
was none other. God was all there was ; and, had 
there been any other, he could not have helped God. 
God had all power, and so needed no help. 

The earth which God made in the beginning did 
not look as it does now. No one lived on it, or 
could live on it, as it was then. It was also all dark. 
Shut your eyes tight, and think of this great mass 
without shape or life, and covered with darkness. 
We should not have cared to be there, should we ? 
It must have been a most strange and gloomy place. 

Then God said, " Let there be light : and there 



CREATION. 23 

was light. And God saw the light that it was 
good : and God divided the light from the darkness. 
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he 
called Night." How wonderful a thing the light 
is ! This world would seem very strange if we were 
obliged to grope about in darkness all the time. We 
should not be as happy if there were no light. We 
could not see the beautiful fleecy clouds sail across 
the blue sky, nor the lovely shades of green of the 
trees and grass. The white, red, pink, and blue of 
the flowers would all be the same to us. We should 
know the flowers only by our touch and their smell. 
Thus, when God spoke, the wonderful light appeared. 
God knew how great a pleasure it would be to us. 
We do not know how long a time the day was or 
how long the darkness lasted. The time when it 
was light God called day, and the time of the dark- 
ness he called night. It was not like our day and 
night, nor like our light from the sun. God planned 
it all as it should be, and he saw that it was all 
good. 

MEMORY GEM. 

Like a cradle rocking, rocking, 

Silent, peaceful, to and fro, 
Like a mother's sweet looks dropping 

On the little face below, 
Hangs the green earth, swinging, turning, 

Jarless, noiseless, safe, and slow ; 
Falls the light of God's face bending 

Down and watching us below. 

— Saxe Holm. 

OCCUPATION. 

Have the children close their eyes and try to 
imagine the world as it was without regular shape 
and in darkness. When the children realize that 



24 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

only God could make the world, then illustrate by 
soap-bubbles. Blow only one at a time. Contrast 
the imperishableness of the world and the frailty of 
the bubble. Compare the irregular darkness of the 
earth with the regular shape and beautiful colors of 
the soap-bubble, and speak of the later beauty of the 
earth. Illustrate by the easily moved bubble God's 
power in guiding the earth. Bring out the fact 
that God's power in doing this is continuous and 
even ; that the earth is not like the floating bubble 
blown here and there by the breath. Illustrate God's 
wonderful power by the fact that the making of this 
great world was to him no more than the blowing 
of a bubble to the children. 

The chief point of this lesson is to impress God's 
wonderful power, his might and wisdom. 

Directions for Preparing a Soap-bubble Mixture. 

Put into a pint bottle two ounces of the best 
white Castile soap, cut into thin shavings, and fill 
the bottle with cold water which has been first boiled 
and then left to cool. Shake well together, and allow 
the bottle to stand until the upper part of the solu- 
tion is clear. Decant this solution ; use two parts 
and add one part of glycerine. This should make a 
bubble that with care will last some time. 



STORY. — THE STONE-CUTTER. 

A stone-cutter was at work one day patiently 
chiselling away on a stone. Thud, thud, thud went 
the hammer upon the chisel. Hum, hum, hum 
went the man's thoughts. "How tired I am of 
chiselling away at this stone all day long and day 
after day ! " Just then the sound of trumpets was 
heard, and the man left his work to watch a great 



CREATION. 25 

procession go by ; the king was travelling through 
the country in state, and all the people had stopped 
their work to see him. " I wish I were the king,'* 
thought the stone-cutter ; " then I should no longer 
be obliged to pound, pound, pound all day/' 

No sooner had he thought this than he found him- 
self the king, and was being driven through the 
country, receiving homage wherever he went. As 
he journeyed south, it became very warm and the 
heat was most uncomfortable. Awnings were ar- 
ranged to shield him from the sun, but he still found 
the heat almost unbearable. "Why should I, the 
king of all this great country, be annoyed and made 
uncomfortable by the heat of the sun, and not be 
able to prevent it ? It must be that the sun is more 
powerful than I am. I do not wish anything to be 
stronger than I. I wish I were the sun." 

At once the stone-cutter became the sun, and was 
shining down upon the already hot earth with un- 
usual heat. The ground became parched and dry, 
and the plants and crops began to die. The people 
looked troubled, and wondered how long the terrible 
heat would continue. The stone-cutter, who had 
now become the sun, felt that he was the most 
powerful thing in the world, and was happy. Soon, 
however, clouds began to gather, and the sun was 
hidden, and could no longer send its hot rays to the 
earth. The rain began to fall upon the dry and 
dusty earth ; and the stone-cutter, hidden behind 
the clouds, heard the glad exclamations of the peo- 
ple when the cooling rain refreshed the hot land. 
i( Surely," he said to himself, " the rain is more power- 
ful than the sun. Would I were the rain instead of 
the sun." 

Immediately the stone-cutter became the rain, and 
felt very happy in the thought of how much good 
he was doing. But many of the drops fell into the 



26 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

ocean and were lost in its depths. Then the stone- 
cutter said : " The ocean is more powerful than the 
rain even, since the rain falls on the water, and is at 
once lost. I will be the ocean." 

The stone-cutter found himself the mighty ocean. 
During a storm it would rise high and dash over 
rocks, but it could not move the solid bowlders. It 
beat hard and long against them, but they stood 
immovable. " These rocks are more powerful than 
the ocean ; I wish I were the mighty rocks." 

Then the stone-cutter became the rock, and stood 
firm and calm as the waves dashed against its hard 
sides. At length, however, a stone-cutter came and 
began to chisel the great rock, and soon it was 
broken in pieces. "The stone-cutter is mightier 
than the stone he cuts. I should have done better 
to remain a stone-cutter." Again the stone-cutter 
found himself chiselling away at the rock, thud, thud, 
thud. He no longer was dissatisfied, but he con- 
tinued to think. 

" I have been all these mighty and powerful 
things, but each time I found something more power- 
ful than I. Now I am a stone-cutter again. I have 
power over the rock because I can break it in 
pieces, but I cannot make the rock. I cannot make 
the rain fall. I cannot make the sunshine. There 
must be a power so much greater than any other 
as to rule all these mighty things." 

Just at this time a shower came up, and the thun- 
der was very loud, and the flash of the lightning 
unusually bright. As the thunder rolled and rever- 
berated through the clouds, it seemed to the stone- 
cutter as if God's voice were speaking to him and 
saying : " The thunder rolls at my command ; the 
lightning flashes at my word. I hold the waves in 
the hollow of my hand, and the rock is to me no 
stronger than a tiny shell. The loftiest mountains 



CREATION. 27 

are to me as small mounds and as easily moved. 
Man himself was made by my hand, and given a 
mind that he might understand that I am God and 
that I have all power and strength. I gave him 
also a heart, that, knowing my strength and good- 
ness, he might love and serve me with all his heart 
and soul, with all his mind and strength. I am God. 
I have been from everlasting, and shall be forever. 
All things were made by my hand, and without me 
was not anything made that is made." 



LESSON II. 
CLAY, 

" We are the clay, and thou our potter ; and we all are the work 
of thy hand." — Isa. 64 : 8. 

At the time we have been talking about, so many 
thousands of years ago, the world looked very differ- 
ent from what it does now. God was going to make 
parts of the earth like a beautiful garden. At this 
time, however, he had not made the great forests of 
trees, nor the beautiful flowers. No birds sung, and 
no butterflies flitted about. But the loving God knew 
that he would later send little children to live here, and 
he had a great many things to make ready for them. 

At this time, so long ago, there were great oceans ; 
and the oceans were larger than they are now, and 
covered the rocks ; and because there was little land 
there were few rivers. Then the rocks began to rise 
above the water ; and, as the land became larger, the 
rivers became greater in size and strength, and there 
were more of them. As the rivers grew stronger, 
they began to tear away pieces of rock and roll them 
down the mountains and hills. These rocks would 
bump against other rocks and break up into small 
pieces ; they would roll along the river-bed, and dig 
that deeper and deeper. The rocks were pounded 
together by the force of the water, and became 
smaller and smaller, until they were ground to 
powder finer than flour. 

With some of this fine powder ground from the 
rocks other things were mixed, until it made a kind 
of earth which after a time was ready for plants to 

28 



CLAY. 29 

grow in ; some was made into sand such as you find 
by the ocean ; some of it was carried by the water 
into low places in the earth, and then it was laid to 
rest on cool, dark beds, where it lay damp and hidden 
for thousands of years, until at last it became clay. 
Not all the rock was pounded up in this way, for 
much of it was left for us to build into strong houses 
and walls. But God wished also to have the soil upon 
which could grow plants and vegetables for us to eat, 
and land where we could build houses to live in. 

I cannot tell you of all that was done for us before 
we came ; but you shall hear of more wonderful 
things than this at another time ; now we are to talk 
only about the powdered stones that lay in these beds 
under water so long, but were finally lifted up into 
the clear sunlight. 

Who can tell me what color clay is ? Yes, most 
of it is gray ; but there are also blue, white, red, 
and yellow clays. I have seen cliffs all streaked 
through with red, black, yellow, brown, and white 
clays. 

Can we use clay for anything besides moulding 
pretty shapes, — spheres and pears and animals ? 
Sometimes clay is mixed with sand and made into 
bricks, which are then burnt in a hot fire to make 
them hard. We use the bricks to make houses. God 
knew we should use them in this way. 

There are several different kinds of clay. A fine 
clay is baked to make pots and pans, and is called 
potter's clay. The Bible speaks of the potter's using 
the clay, and says that we are like clay, and that God 
is our potter. He shapes and moulds our lives just 
as you press the clay to make it of a beautiful form. 
God plans and shapes our lives to make them more 
beautiful. "We are all the work of his hands." He 
made the clay, and he just as truly made us. We be- 
long to him, and should not fret if we cannot do just 



30 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

as we please ; for God knows how to make the best 
men and women of us. 

There is a clay still finer than the potter's clay, 
which is called kaolin or china clay, and is used in 
making the finest and most beautiful china. Great 
pains is taken to shape the finer clay into beautiful 
forms. Which would you rather be like, the clay that 
is made into pots and kettles or that which is made 
into handsome china, and requires more pressing and 
moulding ? Would you not rather that God should 
make your lives good and beautiful, even if you can- 
not always do what you like ? We cannot make our 
own lives better unless we are willing to let God do 
as he sees best. We could not have made the soft 
clay from the hard stone. (Show a piece of granite.) 
Was it not kind of God to do for us what we cannot 
do for ourselves ? 

MEMORY GEM. 

Take my feet, and let them be 
Swift and beautiful for thee ; 
Take my voice, and let me sing 
Always, only, for my King. 

— Frames R. Havergal. 

OCCUPATION. 

Give each child a lump of clay with which to make 
pots and jars. Show the children how to mould 
it into the shape of a vase. Various specimens of 
pottery shown to the children will add to the 
interest. 

STORY. — THE STORY THE VASE TOLD. 

Dorothy had been playing so hard that she was 
very tired and lay down on the lounge to rest. 
She did not know what to do with herself, and 



CLAY. 3 1 

exclaimed, " O dear ! I wish some one would tell me 
a story." 

" I will tell you one, if you would like," said a soft 
voice above her. 

Dorothy looked all about to see who had spoken, 
but could see no one. 

" Here I am on the mantel," and Dorothy glanced 
up to see the large vase on the corner of the mantel 
looking down as if smiling upon her. 

" O do ! I never heard of a vase telling a story. 
What will you tell me about ? " 

" I will tell you a story about myself. I have 
lived a long time and seen a great many things. 
The first I remember was lying in a big bed way 
down under the water. I had no blankets such 
as you have, but I needed none. I did wish to be 
able to look about more, but still there was much to 
be seen even under the water. I saw many things 
that you do not know about. I could tell you many 
interesting stories of the strange animals that lived 
near me. I remained in this deep, dark bed a great 
many years, until by and by I was no longer covered 
by water, but lay in the bright, warm sunshine. 
Everything was new and strange to me. Instead of 
the sound of rippling water there were the song 
of birds and the hum of insects. Sometimes sweet 
odors came floating toward me from a place where 
I could see green trees. All these things were so 
beautiful that I did not grow tired of lying in the 
sunlight. I did not look as I do now, but was simply 
a lump of clay lying with a great deal more of the 
same material. I cannot tell you how long I lay 
there ; for I do not know, and you could not under- 
stand so long a time. You have lived only a few 
years, and I lay there many hundred times as long 
as your whole life. 

" At last, one day, a man came and dug me out of 



32 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

the bed where I had lain so long, and carried me off 
with ever so much more of the clay about me. I 
never had travelled before, and was so surprised that 
I hardly knew what was happening to me. All I 
remember was that I was put inside of a building 
with more clay ; and, when I had become rested after 
my journey, I was again picked up and pressed and 
moulded and laid on a round, flat wheel which a man 
turned round and round. He used his foot to keep 
the wheel turning, and he pressed his hands on me 
as I lay on the wheel, pushing in at the bottom and 
toward the top. Faster and faster went the wheel, 
and I grew tall and slender, with beautiful curved 
sides. Sometimes he would stop the wheel and look 
at me on all sides, and then go to work again. 

" After a time he began to make a hole inside, 
which grew larger and larger as he pressed on the 
inside, while he kept his other hand on the outside to 
keep me in shape. Soon the inside of me was in the 
form that you see I have now. Then I was taken off 
the wheel and put upon a shelf, while the man placed 
another piece of clay upon the wheel and moulded it 
as he had moulded me ; but, when it was all done, 
the vase was of an entirely different shape, but just 
as beautiful. I watched the man place this by my 
side, and was happy to have a friend to talk with ; 
for I supposed we were both finished and should 
stand upon that shelf some time, at least. Then 
another man came and took me down, and carried 
me to his work-bench where he carefully cut figures 
in my soft sides. He made the most beautiful pic- 
tures upon me. You can see them now ; for, although 
I went through much after he made these lovely pat- 
terns on my sides, every mark that he made is still 
to be seen. 

"When he had finished, I surely thought I was as 
beautiful as was possible ; but I soon found that more 



CLAY. 33 

was to be done for me. I was placed in a kind of 
oven, called a kiln, and a hot fire was built beneath 
me. It was very hot, and I feared that I should lose 
my beautiful shape or the handsome pattern that 
the man had cut upon my side. It grew hotter and 
hotter until I could not tell what was happening to 
me ; but at last it began to grow cold, and finally 
I was taken out and again set upon a shelf. Then I 
had time to see that I had lost neither my shape nor 
the design cut upon me. I also heard the man say : 
* There is no reason why this vase will not hold water 
now. It has a handsome pattern, and is worth paint- 
ing and enamelling.' 

" Was it possible that anything more could be done 
to make me more beautiful ? If so, I was willing ; 
therefore, when another man carried me to his bench, 
I was glad. He worked very slowly and carefully, 
giving me a touch of one color here and another 
there, and finally putting a wash of some strange 
substance all over me ; and I was again put into 
the kiln and baked. The fire was even hotter than 
before, but I was glad, because I now felt sure that 
all this was done to me in order that I might be of 
more value because of my beauty. I was carried to 
one or two places before I came here to stand upon 
this corner of the mantel. I was here before you 
came to this house, but it seems but a short time to 
me, as I had lived so much longer before I lived 
here." 



LESSON III. 

DRY LAND. 

" If thou seek for her as silver, and search for her as for hid 
treasures." — Prov. 2 : 4. 

We have talked about the time when there were 
no birds, nor flowers, nor trees ; when there were 
no men, nor women, nor any little children ; when 
even the big round ball on which we live had not 
been made. You remember that at first there was 
only God, and that he made this wonderful earth. 
God kept changing the earth because he wished 
sometime to have people live upon it. God took 
many, many years to do this. In our last lesson we 
talked about some of these changes. But God was 
doing other things besides making the clay. He 
wished to change the earth so that beautiful plants 
and trees should grow upon it, for he knew that the 
children and the grown people would like them. 

Let us see what the Bible tells us about it. 

" God said, Let the waters under the heaven be 
gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land 
appear : and it was so. And God called the dry land 
Earth : and the gathering together of the waters 
called he Seas : and God saw that it was good." 

Before this time the water had been like a dense 
cloud covering the earth. You know how it looks 
on a foggy morning. You can hardly see across the 
street. There was something like this all around 
the earth. The solid part of the earth kept chang- 
ing and changing until hills and valleys, mountains 
and deep places, began to appear. After a time the 

34 



DRY LAND. 35 

watery cloud disappeared, and it became water, and 
filled the hollow places of the earth. If you hold a 
cold plate over the kettle when the steam is coming 
from the nose, it will form drops of water on the 
plate that will run down like a small brook. So 
the brooks and rivers began to flow down from the 
higher parts of the earth into the hollows, thus 
making ponds and lakes and oceans. 

As the streams rushed quickly down the hillsides 
they carried with them little particles of earth, which 
were left in other places. In this manner the outside 
of the earth was ever changing, until at length it 
became ready for plants to grow upon it. There 
were mosses, ferns, and other simple plants. These 
grew fast, and soon became very large. A great 
many ferns grew, some of which were as tall as 
trees. 

Think of great forests of tree ferns. There were 
also high pines, much taller than any we have now. 
These grew in deep hollows near rivers and lakes, 
and little by little filled them up. The ground sunk 
down, and other plants grew on the top. Often the 
roots of trees still remained in the soil just as they 
grew, so slowly and easily did it all settle. Even the 
light seeds of the plants did not blow away. Thus 
forest after forest grew and sunk into the earth, only 
to be followed by others. Big rocks pressed these 
down, and the whole mass was heated and pressed 
again until it was changed into hard black stone, 
which still showed here and there the shape of palm 
or fern. This took many, many years. What do 
you suppose this hard black material was ? Yes, it 
was coal. There it lay, year after year, age after 
age, for there were no people on the earth to find it. 
Hills rose above those great beds of black stone. 
Other trees and plants grew, and the world looked 
very different from what it did at first. God knew 



36 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

that by and by, when men and women and children 
lived upon the earth, they would be cold in the 
winter unless they had fires to keep them warm. 
He knew that they would need this coal with which 
to build the fires. He planned so many good things 
for us that we have not found them all out even yet. 
There were very many useful and very many beauti- 
ful things that God wished us to have, and he was at 
work getting some of these ready for us. 

MEMORY GEM. 

And Nature, the old nurse, took 

The child upon her knee, 
Saying, " Here is a story-book 

Thy Father has written for thee. 

" Come, wander with me," she said, 

" Into regions yet untrod ; 
And read what is still unread 

In the manuscripts of God." 

And he wandered away and away 
With Nature, the dear old nurse, 

Who sang to him night and day 
The rhymes of the universe. 

And whenever the way seemed long, 

Or his heart began to fail, 
She would sing a more wonderful song, 

Or tell a more marvellous tale. 

— Henry W. Longfellow. 

OCCUPATION. 

If possible, show the children how steam is con- 
densed into water, and thus illustrate the formation 
of rivers and seas, and the separation of land from 
water. By means of a sand-board make a portion 



DRY LAND. 37 

of the earth's surface with its irregularities, its 
depressions and elevations. Have a part of the 
board free from sand to represent the ocean ; and 
string can be used for the rivers, two or three 
streams merging into one before they reach the 
ocean. Use tiny needles of fir or hemlock for the 
vegetable growth, and illustrate the forming of coal- 
beds by layer after layer of needles. Have a little 
of the sand scattered over the needles before another 
layer is allowed to grow. 

STORY. -THE WONDERFUL STORY. 

Once there was a father who wrote a wonderful 
book of stories for his children. The book was so 
written that it would please every child. If one boy 
loved animals, he had only to look into his father's 
book and find the most interesting stories of dogs and 
horses, of birds and butterflies. There were beauti- 
ful stories of flowers, — of the daisy with its golden 
heart, of the pansy with its blossom like a face, of 
the four-o'clock that remained shut until afternoon, 
and many other curious flowers. 

There were fairy stories of caves and grottoes, the 
walls of which were covered with pearls and shells 
with lovely tints. There were chairs of amber with 
soft mossy cushions resting on a floor made of sand 
as white as snow ; there were other stories of gar- 
dens in which were sea-anemones, starfish, and all 
kinds of seaweed. In this book were stories of the 
ocean with its hills and valleys all hidden under 
the dancing waves. There were many other stories 
so wonderful that the children never could tire of 
them. 

At first the children did not know how to read at 
all, but they loved to look at the book, and wondered 
what it said. After a time one child studied the 



38 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

book until he understood one of the most simple 
stories. Then he told the other children about it, 
and soon many of them were trying to read from 
the book. When they had read a few of the stories, 
these helped them to understand others ; and the 
more they read, the more interested they became. 
Let me tell you one of the stories in this wonderful 
book. 

Here is a green hill where children love to run 
and play. It looks like many another hill that you 
have seen ; still there is something strange about it. 
There is an opening in its side, and people go down 
into the ground under the hill. Let us go in, too. 

Here is an elevator for us, but it is not like the 
one you have seen in the stores with a carpet on 
the floor and cushioned seats. It is rough and dirty. 
We go down, down, down into the darkness. When 
we reach the bottom, a rough-looking man with dirty 
clothes comes to us to show the way. We follow 
him through long passages and halls with rooms on 
each side where we see men at work. We hear the 
echoes as the men pound great blocks, or as they 
sometimes speak to one another. All around are 
black walls and arches. 

If we look about us, we shall see in the walls the 
forms of beautiful ferns or of palm-leaves. Some- 
times we see something that looks like the trunk of 
a tree. In another place we find a tiny shell like 
that of some nut. Here are mosses and little leaves. 
Ferns and mosses, nuts, palms, and trees are all 
perfect in shape and beautiful in form, yet away 
under this hill. 

Have you guessed what the story is about ? Have 
you seen that we have been down into a coal-mine, 
and that these black walls are coal made by the 
trees and ferns ages and ages ago ? Have you ever 
thought what we should do if we had not the coal to 



DRY LAND. 39 

make our fires, to heat the rooms, and to cook our 
food ? It is a wonderful story, is it not ? But there 
are many more just as interesting in this book that 
the father has written. How many of you can tell 
what this wonderful book is ? It is this dear old 
earth on which we live, and God has written it for 
us, his children. In it we can find the most beauti- 
ful and wonderful tales if only we learn to read 
them. 

Let us try to see the beauty in the blue dome of 
the sky, with its fleecy white clouds or its beautiful 
stars ; let us listen to the song of the birds and 
learn of the different flowers, so that some day we 
may be able to read and understand some of the 
more wonderful stories that our Father has written 
for us. 



LESSON IV. 

GROWTH OF PLANTS, 

" Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow" — Matt. 6 : 28. 

The Bible tells us that God said, " Let the earth 
put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bear- 
ing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, 
upon the earth : and it was so." 

God had made the earth ready for the plants, as 
we have learned ; but there was no one upon the 
earth to plant the seeds, to water the trees and care 
for the plants. God had arranged that the grass and 
herbs and trees should plant their own seed, find their 
own food, and get their own water themselves. In 
each plant, no matter how small it is, there is a seed 
which will grow into other plants just like itself. 
Each plant leads its own life and cares for its own 
children. It drops its tiny seed to the ground where 
it can take root and grow. 

If you cut into an apple, what will you find ? Yes, 
seeds ; and each tiny seed contains a real little apple- 
tree, but so small that we cannot see much shape to 
it. When the petals of the flower have dropped to 
the ground, the little green ball appears, which grows 
and grows until it has become the rosy-cheeked apple- 
filled with sugar and sunshine. God makes all his 
gifts work together for our good. Is it not a won- 
derful thing that the sweet, juicy apple can grow 
from the pink and white blossom ? A more wonder- 
ful thing still is the fact that God planned the beau- 

40 




GOLDEN LEAVES. 

From a painting by J. E. Grace. 



GROWTH OF PLANTS. 4 1 

tiful flower and the juicy apple for you and me, for 
all the people on this earth. 

Think how many different kinds of flowers there 
are, and how differently they grow, and how beautiful 
each one is. Can you see anything in a violet that 
looks like a rose ? Does it seem as if the daisy and 
the clover could come from the same place ? Yet we 
see them side by side in the fields. How different 
are the buttercup and the wild aster ! Yet God made 
them both. He made so many, many other different 
kinds that you and I do not even know the names of 
them all. 

God not only made the plants to look unlike each 
other, but he also planned many ways for them to 
grow. Did you ever notice the winged seed of the 
maple, and how far the wind often carries it from the 
tree ? If the new little maple-tree were to try to 
grow close to the mother tree it would not have room 
enough or sunshine sufficient to grow into a large, 
strong tree. God has given the seeds these wings 
that they may fly away from the older tree to a place 
where there will be more room in which to grow, and 
God has planned the wind to help the seeds. There 
are many seeds that are carried to other places by the 
wind. Sometimes the seeds float down a river 
to some new ground, where they take root and 
grow. I am sure that even you boys and girls 
have helped some of the seeds to find new homes. 
How many of you have blown the dandelion seeds 
to watch the feathery tufts sail off so lightly 
through the air from the tiny, fairy-like cushion 
where they have rested ? That was just what the 
seed was longing to have done ; and, if you had 
not helped it, the wind would have come along and 
given it a whiff. 

God has arranged many other ways for the seeds 
to find new places in which to grow so that the whole 



42 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

earth may be made beautiful. See whether you can 
find any other curious ways in which seeds reach 
their new homes. 

Now let us remember that God made these beau- 
tiful plants and all the wonderful things upon the 
earth for us, for the men and women and little chil- 
dren, and that he was ages getting the earth ready 
for us. There are so many things on this dear old 
earth that God has planned for us that we are only 
beginning to find them. Do you think the grass and 
the trees, the flowers and the ferns, the quiet ponds 
and the sparkling brooks, the grand old hills and the 
mighty oceans, have made this world as beautiful as 
were the bubbles we made during the first lesson ? 
But there are many, many more beauties that God 
has added to this earth for our sakes, and sometime 
we may learn about a few of them. 

MEMORY GEM, 

Spake full well, in language quaint and olden, 
One who dwelleth by the castled Rhine, 

When he called the flowers so blue and golden, 
Stars, that in earth's firmament do shine. 

Wondrous truths, and manifold as wondrous, 
God hath written in those stars above ; 

But not less in the bright flowerets under us 
Stands the revelation of his love. 

— Henry W. Longfellow. 

OCCUPATION, 

Show the seeds in the apple, also cut a cross sec- 
tion to find the form of the blossom. Give each 
child a different flower, having, if possible, some 
winged seeds among the number, and speak briefly 
of each variety. 



GROWTH OF PLANTS. 43 



STORY. — THE MILKWEED SEEDS. 

There were once a dozen purplish pink blossoms on 
a tall, stout stem. They awoke when the glad sun 
smiled upon them in the morning, and closed their 
petals in sleep when it grew dark. After a time the 
petals fell off one by one. A long pod or pocket 
grew around what had been the blossom, and inside 
of this the seeds began to change. After a time 
there came white fleecy tufts of silk as a crown to 
each little brown seed, but they were still incased in 
the pocket. While they were hidden in the pod they 
talked together ; they wondered whether they were 
always to remain there. One was discontented, and 
longed to fly away. 

" If I can ever leave this dark house," he said, " I 
shall fly as far as I can and see this great 
world." 

" But something might happen to you," said the 
second seed. " Would it not be better to stay where 
we are ? " 

" O, I'm not afraid ! " answered the first. " I can 
take care of myself." 

" What shall you do ? " asked the third brown seed 
of the next one lying so close to it. 

" I am sure there is some work for us to do," 
answered the fourth ; " and I am ready to wait and 
see what it is." 

The other seeds thought this so sensible an answer 
that they decided to do the same. 

At length the pod burst open ; and, when there 
came a puff of wind, the first little seed flew away. 
It knew not where it was going or what would be- 
come of it. As it began to go down toward the 
earth, not far from the brown pod, it felt sorry 
because it wished to see more of the world. Just at 
this instant, however, there came another gust of 



44 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

wind and whirled it far up into the air, until it was 
dizzy and sick. How much it wished itself safe back 
with the other seeds in the long pod ! It saw so many 
strange sights that it was frightened. At last it was 
so tired that it hardly knew what was happening to 
it, and it fell into the road, and was trampled upon by 
a heavy wagon. 

The other seeds still lay closely packed in their 
small house ; but each day the pod opened a little 
wider, and, as it swayed in the wind, they found they 
had to cling to the inside to prevent being blown 
away. One day two children came along, and one of 
them exclaimed : " O, here is a milkweed pod ! Let 
us each take one of the seeds for a boat to sail in a 
little pond we can make in one of mother's dishes." 
So two of the silky-tufted seeds were carried to the 
children's home, where they amused the little baby 
brother while their tired mother had a rest ; and 
the brown seeds were glad, for they had found their 
work. 

The next day the wind blew so hard that three 
seeds were carried away from the pod and blown to 
different places where they lay through the winter, 
oftentimes covered by the snow. In the spring they 
sent down little roots into the ground and a shoot up 
toward the sunlight, and after a time this shoot be- 
came a long stalk with blossoms upon it, and then 
there was another pod with seeds inside. 

The rest of the seeds still clung to the pod, until one 
day a boy came skipping along and gathered them into 
a bag, where they found many others like themselves. 
When he had his bag full, he carried it home. The 
boy and his mother separated the little seeds from 
the downy tufts of silk, and put the latter into a 
pillow with many more like them. The pillow was 
for his sick sister. As she rested her head upon the 
soft, cool pillow, she felt very grateful to her brother 



GROWTH OF PLANTS. 45 

for all his work in gathering the silky threads. And 
the tufts of silk themselves were glad because they 
could help some one. Even the brown seeds that 
were thrown away were happy, because they had 
held some of the silk threads that now made the 
pillow. 



LESSON V. 

THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS, 

" Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to 
behold the sun.'''' — Eccl. n : y. 

" God said, Let there be lights in the firmament 
of the heaven to divide the day from the night ; and 
let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days 
and years ; and let them be for lights in the firma- 
ment of the heaven to give light upon the earth ; and 
it was so." 

All around the earth had been a dense cloud. 
After a long, long time, however, this cloud disap- 
peared, some of it becoming water which made rivers 
and seas. After this cloud disappeared there were 
seen great lights in the sky. Do you think they 
looked like electric lights? No, they were very 
much larger. What did the Bible say they were 
for? "To divide the day from the night." Now 
you can guess what they were. The sun to light the 
day, and the moon and the stars to shine at night. 
The earth turned around each day just as it does 
now. So, when our side of the earth is toward the 
sun, it is light where we are, and we call it day ; but, 
as our side of the earth turns away from the sun, it 
is dark and we call it night. 

Before this there had been no summer and winter, 
no day and night, because the cloud prevented the 
sun's rays from reaching the earth. Probably it was 
not as cold anywhere on the earth then as it is in 
some parts now. The Frost King did not build beau- 
tiful ice bridges and palaces or caves and shining 

46 



THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS. 47 

grottoes, or make pictures of trees and vines. He 
could not make the water of the pond so that you 
could run and skate over it as children do in the 
cold countries now. The north wind did not send 
down any feathery, white flakes of snow to cover the 
ground and make the fences and trees look as if they 
belonged to fairy-land. It was warm all over the 
earth all the time as it is now in some parts. But 
sometimes it was light and sometimes it was dark. 

God planned that the sun should give us light dur- 
ing the day when our side of the earth is turned 
toward it. At night it is not as light. The moon is 
not so bright as the sun ; it shines very faintly in 
the daytime because the light from the sun is so 
much brighter. In the night, however, it gives us a 
white, silvery light quite different from that of the 
sun. 

Some of the stars are great worlds something like 
the one on which we live, and they get their light 
from the sun as we do. There are Jupiter and Mars 
and Venus, and several others of which you will learn 
when you are older. Venus is of nearly the same 
size as this earth. They are so far away that they 
look small to us. - 

Besides these worlds, or planets, as we call them, 
there are many, many more stars that are like our 
sun. They are a great distance away, and must be 
very large and bright in order to be seen from here. 
These stars or suns are so far away from us and 
from one another that it is possible that they, too, 
have different worlds going around them as our 
earth and Jupiter and Venus go around our sun. 

God cares for all these stars ; he keeps them mov- 
ing just where they should go. Do you suppose he 
can stop to think of one little boy or girl on this 
earth, which is only one of so many worlds ? The 
Bible says : " Are not two sparrows sold for a 



48 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

farthing ? and not one of them shall fall on the 
ground without your Father [that means God] ; but 
the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear 
not therefore ; ye are of more value than many 
sparrows." 

If God cares for each little sparrow, surely he will 
care for ^ the boys and girls. God can think of all 
these. different things at once and of a great many 
others besides. Do not you believe he thought of 
how much the children would like to watch the beau- 
tiful stars at night, when he let their light shine to 
be seen upon this earth ? Do not you also believe 
he thought of the boys and girls when he planned 
that sometimes the moon should look full and round 
like a ball, and sometimes look like a crescent ? God 
not only made all these wonderful things, but he 
was glad to plan them all for our enjoyment. Men 
have learned a great deal about the stars, as well as 
of many other beautiful things God has made ; but 
no one could have learned any of these things if God 
had not given him a mind to study and understand 
them. 

MEMORY GEM. 

Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows 

of heaven, 
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots 

of the angels. 

— Henry W. Longfellow. 

OCCUPATION. 

Let the children hold objects to represent the 
earth, the moon, and the stars. Use a large ball 
for the earth, and have plainly marked upon it a spot 
to represent the home of the children. Use a lamp 
or other light for the sun. Have the lamp placed in 



THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS. 49 

a position so that the child who holds the ball that 
represents the earth can move around the lamp and 
its light shall properly shine upon the earth. Have 
the child turn the ball slowly around to illustrate our 
day and night. Let him also make the ball circle 
around the light as does our earth during the year. 

Other children should be supplied with paper stars. 
The story that follows will be more clear if seven of 
the children with stars form the Dipper. 

STORY.— THE LEGEND OF THE DIAMOND DIPPER. 

There are a great many stories so old that no one 
knows who wrote them. Some of them are true and 
some are not. But many are so beautiful that we 
love them even though we do not know that they 
really happened. Sometimes we call these "won- 
der " stories, legends ; sometimes we call them myths. 
We have been talking about the sun and the moon 
and the stars, and you know that seven of the stars 
are called "The Great Dipper." 

I once heard of an old lady who was listening to a 
group of young people talking about the stars which 
they had just been out-of-doors to see. She heard 
them talking about the Great Dipper and the Little 
Dipper, and she said, " You must have better eyes 
than I have, for I can't see anything like a dipper in 
the sky ; they all look like stars to me." 

This dear old lady thought that by the Great 
Dipper was meant some one star that looked like a 
dipper. She did not understand that we mean seven - 
stars so arranged that four of them form the bowl 
and three of them the handle of the dipper. I should 
like to tell you a legend, a wonder story about a 
dipper, because the story is so beautiful. 

The story is told that in a certain country the 
people believed that there was a dipper covered with 



50 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

diamonds, which would be a great blessing to the 
one who found it. But no one could find this dia- 
mond dipper unless he was good and pure and 
unselfish. Many persons had sought for this won- 
derful dipper, but had not found it. Oftentimes 
they made presents to those about them, hoping that 
by being generous they should be able to find the 
treasure. 

When a new child came into the world, the legend 
tells us, he was told of the diamond dipper ; and 
many children looked for it. One day a little child 
had been told the story by his mother, who gave him 
a tin dipper that he might understand what to look 
for. The child was so interested in the story and so 
anxious to find the beautiful treasure that he started 
at once, carrying with him the tin dipper. He ran 
here and there, searching under trees and behind 
rocks, and wherever he thought it might be found. 
At length he grew very tired, and lay down to rest. 
When he awoke, he again looked for the wonderful 
dipper, but he had been searching so long that he 
had become hungry and faint ; he was also very 
thirsty. 

He wandered about, trying to find some water to 
quench his thirst ; but he had gone so far from his 
own home that he had come to a place where there 
was none, and every one was suffering for the want 
of it. As the child walked on, he thought, " If I 
could but have my dipper filled with cool water, how 
glad I should be, even if I could not find the dia- 
mond dipper ! " Then he prayed ; and, as he looked at 
his dipper, he saw that it was full of clear water. 
The child also saw a little harebell with hanging head 
and wilted stalk, bending down to the ground for 
want of water. Then the child knelt and carefully 
sprinkled the water over the thirsty plant. He was 
so much interested in having the water go where it 



THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS. 5 1 

would most help the flower that he did not see that 
his dipper still held as much water as before, or that 
it was no longer a tin dipper, but that it had been 
changed to silver. 

The child arose and was about to drink some of 
the precious water himself, when a dog fell panting 
at his side. The child could not bear to see the 
suffering of the dog, and quickly poured some of 
the water into the palm of his hand, and stooped for 
the dog to drink. Near by was the harebell, which 
now stood up straight and strong because of the 
child's unselfish act. As the child gave some of 
the water to the thirsty dog, the happy harebell rung 
some of its silver notes and softly sung, for it knew 
that the dipper had been changed from silver to 
gold. 

Again the child arose to drink from the dipper 
some of the refreshing water, for he was very thirsty, 
when he saw a poor man standing at his side, who 
begged for a little water to quench his thirst. The 
child lifted the dipper to the man, and gave to him 
before he had so much as tasted the precious water 
himself. As the man drank, there came a wonderful 
light and a voice which said, " Inasmuch as ye did it 
unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye 
did it unto me." As the child looked into the shining 
eyes of the man, he seemed to see the beautiful 
Christ standing before him, and then he was gone. 
The child stood looking at the spot where the lovely 
form had been, and then turned away with a happy 
feeling in his own heart. As he wandered on, hav- 
ing forgotten his own thirst because of the joy of 
having helped another, he lifted the dipper and saw 
that it was covered with flashing diamonds. His 
own unselfish acts had changed the common tin 
dipper into one of diamonds. 



LESSON VI. 
CORAL. 

" The works of the Lord are great." — Ps. in : 2. 

Long ago, way back at the time when the earth 
appeared so different from the way it looks now, 
down in the sea was a little hill of mud and sand all 
covered with water. Not far from it floated some 
soft jelly-like animals. After a little time each one 
fastened himself to a bit of rock near this hill. Here 
he stayed, eating all the time with a tiny mouth, 
drinking in the sea-water. 

In the water were little particles of a white lime- 
stone substance which the polyp drew into its mouth 
with the water, and used it to build up around its 
body a sort of limestone house. This helped to pro- 
tect the little polyp from the fishes in the ocean, for 
they do not care to eat a hard piece of shell. Yes, 
it is really a kind of shell house that the little polyp 
has built about him. But the little animal never 
leaves the house ; he always stays inside. Most of 
you have found the shells of oysters and snails along 
the seashore. These animals made their shells in 
something the same way as the polyp. 

But let us go back to Coraltown, where a great 
many coral polyps had fastened themselves to the 
rock and had built their houses ; after a time it be- 
came a village of polyps. Other coral polyps fastened 
themselves to the houses of the first animals, and 
built their castles. Fastened to these were still more 
polyps, and so on, until after years and years the 
little hill of mud that was first there became sur- 

52 



CORAL. 53 

rounded by these tiny little houses of father and 
mother, brother and sister polyps, side by side and 
above each other, forming a circle around the hill. 
Still there were more and more of the polyps, and the 
pile of houses grew higher and higher as years and 
years went by, until at last the topmost houses were 
almost at the top of the water. 

When storms came, bits of the tiny walls were 
broken off. The polyps had worked for years and 
years building the walls, and these were often broken 
in a moment ; but God had planned it all, and had a 
wonderful purpose in thus letting the waves break 
down their houses. These crumbling bits that broke 
off floated about and filled the little holes in the wall. 
The rough edges at the top caught seaweed and bits 
of wood drifting about, and sometimes dirt and sand. 
When the top of this circle, made by the little ani- 
mals, was above the water, the winds blowing across 
the ocean from the land often left seeds of plants 
upon the dirt on the top of the coral rock. The birds 
also brought seeds and dropped in the cracks. These 
soon became plants, and grew until the place looked 
like a little island with green plants and shrubs grow- 
ing upon it, and a beautiful quiet lake inside. Do 
you suppose the coral polyps would have known their 
old homes ? We must remember, however, that it 
took thousands and thousands of years for the tiny 
animals to build this up so high. 

I am sure you all think it wonderful that such 
mites of bodies could do so great a work, and also 
that they should know how to make these walls for 
themselves. If they could have thought, they would 
certainly have thanked the heavenly Father for put- 
ting plenty of the white limestone substance into the 
water, where they could so readily get it to use for 
building up their bodies. 

Now remember that many other animals besides 



54 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

the coral polyps also use this same thing for their 
shells. Another thing I should like to tell you about 
it. You also build it into your body, into the bones 
of these hands and arms. They would soon grow 
weak and useless without it. You do not know how 
you do it, but God has so arranged it that your body 
does it without your realizing it. You could not toss 
a ball or run and jump if your bones had not thus 
been made strong and hard. We, as well as the sea- 
animals, should thank the heavenly Father. 

MEMORY GEM. 

All things bright and beautiful, 

All creatures great and small, 
All things wise and wonderful, — 

The Lord God made them all. 

— John Keble. 

OCCUPATION. 

Show the children different specimens of corals. 
Show as many varieties as possible, and explain to 
them by means of each specimen. Draw a picture 
of a living polyp with its waving branches. Then let 
the children draw or cut out pictures of as many 
different sea-animals as there is time for, not omit- 
ting the shell-fish. This work must be prepared 
beforehand by collecting pictures of the different 
fishes and other forms of sea life for the children to 
copy. 

STORY. — THE THREE TROUT. 

A pretty little stream ran through a meadow where 
daisies and buttercups grew. This cool brook was 
the home of three little fishes, whose names were 
Tommy Trout, Jacky Trout, and Dicky Trout. 
Happy little fishes they were. A good fairy watched 



CORAL. 55 

over them, and they had everything that a trout 
could wish for. They darted about among the reeds, 
and chased each other round and round the stones. 
In the warm, sunny days you might have seen them 
leaping far out of the water to catch the flies. Some- 
times they would lie quite still for a minute, and 
listen to the lowing of the cows. Then off again, 
darting to and fro, and sporting about in the cool 
stream. 

But, as time went on, and these trout grew older 
and bigger, two of them, Tommy and Jacky, became 
sad and unhappy. All their merry play was gone, 
and now for hours together they would lie quite still 
under the bank. 

The good fairy was very sorry to see this change 
in her little friends, and one day called them to her. 

" Why are you so sad ? " she asked. " Have I not 
given you all that a trout can wish ? Tell me what 
I can do to bring back your cheerful looks, and make 
you merry and happy again. You, Tommy, may 
speak first, as you are the eldest. Tell me what I 
can do to please you." 

Now Tommy had grown up to be a very proud 
little trout. He had become unhappy because other 
trout were as good as himself. He wished to be 
above them all. So he said : " Give me wings, good 
fairy. Make me like the lark that flies away up in 
the blue sky." 

No sooner had he spoken than his tiny fins grew 
into strong, broad wings. Then he rose out of the 
water, and flew up into the air. Away he went over 
the trees and the hills, and far up among the thin 
white clouds. 

"Now," he said, " I am far above those poor little 
trout that are swimming about in their little brook. 
That may be good enough for them, but this is the 
life for me." 



56 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

And Tommy Trout flew on and on until he had 
gone many miles from his old home. At last he felt 
hungry and tired, and wished to go back for a while 
to the stream where he had left Jacky and Dicky. 
So down he flew toward the earth. But alas ! he 
had lost his way. He fell not into the cool brook, 
but among hard rocks and dry, hot sand. He could 
not find a drop of water to drink. Up again he 
mounted to the air, but a second time he fell among 
the same hard rocks and dry, hot sand. Up and 
down and up and down he flew, trying in vain to 
reach the stream where he had once been so happy. 
He was at last so tired out that he was not able to 
rise at all, but lay gasping among the stones. 

Jacky Trout was not so proud as Tommy ; but he, 
too, had faults. He did not care what became of the 
others if only he himself was safe and snug. So, 
when the fairy asked him what he would like, he 
said : " I have heard of poor trout being caught by 
men, and carried off in baskets. Teach me, kind 
fairy, all their tricks to catch us, that I may know 
how to keep myself from harm." 

Then the fairy told him all about the net, of which 
he was so much afraid. It is sometimes drawn 
through the water, and so shuts in the fishes that 
few ever get out of it. Then she told of the cruel 
hook with its sharp point. She told how men cover 
it with bait to make little fishes think it is only a fly 
or a worm. 

"Thank you, good fairy," said Jacky. And off he 
went, thinking himself happier than all the other 
trout. 

In the warm days of summer, Dicky would often 
jump out after a big, fat fly. Poor Jacky was always 
in great fear, lest he should be caught by a hook. 
He often said : " Foolish Dick ! Why, it may not 
be a fly at all, but only a sharp hook." When a 



CORAL. 57 

cloud passed over the brook and cast its shadow on 
the water, Jacky was sure it was a net. 

And thus selfish Jacky always lived in a state of 
fear. As he was never at peace, he was never 
happy. He was afraid to eat his dinner lest a hook 
might be in it. So he grew thinner and thinner. 

" What would you like ? " said the kind fairy to 
Dicky. 

Now Dicky was a good little trout. He was happy 
then, as he had been when the fairy first placed him 
in the brook. So he said : "I thank you, good fairy, 
for giving me this quiet, pretty stream. I have every- 
thing here to make me happy. I am always sure 
of a worm for dinner ; and, when there are plenty of 
flies, I can catch some of them for supper. I wish 
for nothing more ; so do with me as you think right. 
Let me do what you think is best for me." 

This pleased the fairy very much, and she took 
great care of happy little Dicky. For a time he felt 
sad at the loss of Tommy and Jacky, and often 
thought of the happy days they had spent together. 
But by and by the good fairy sent other little trout 
to live in the same stream with Dicky, and he soon 
made friends with them, and the old games were 
played again, and Dicky was the happiest little trout 
that ever was seen. 



LESSON VII. 
ANIMAL LIFE. 

" He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry." 
— Ps. 147 : 9. 

Think of this world where everything was so quiet, 
where there was no sound except the ripple and 
splash of the water as it fell over the rocks of some 
waterfall, or as it swept back and forth on the beach 
in ocean waves, or the wind as it sighed through the 
tops of the pine-trees. Such a world would seem to 
us very strange with no song of birds, no lowing 
cattle, no sheep to say "Baa, baa." But stranger 
still, no human voice was anywhere heard. 

At length, however, God was ready. For the 
Bible tells us : " God said, Let the earth bring forth 
the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping 
thing, and beast of the earth after its kind : and it 
was so. And God saw that it was good." He had 
the world all ready for each different kind of animal. 
Would you not like to have been there, to have 
heard the first bird's song, to have seen the first 
squirrel frisk up a tree, to have watched a butterfly 
flit from flower to flower, and to have looked into 
the eyes of the gentle fawn as it sped over the soft 
carpet of green ? 

Many of the animals were such as we have never 
seen, for the animals changed as time went on. 
Immense wild beasts such as the mastodon roamed 
the earth. Other smaller creatures, unlike any now 
living, dwelt in the forests. 

I want to tell you of another of the wonderful 
58 



ANIMAL LIFE. 59 

things that God did. What would all the animals 
do on the earth with no one to care for them ? God 
taught each little animal how to look out for itself, 
how to get its own food, how to defend itself from 
other animals, how to protect its young. Did you 
ever watch a bird build its nest ? Could you build 
such a nest as does the beautiful oriole ? See how 
lightly and easily it swings in the wind like a cradle ; 
yet it is so firmly built that even the winter storms 
do not tear it from the drooping branch of the tree 
where the little birds so carefully hung it the pre- 
vious summer. You have hands with which to 
work ; the bird has only its feet and beak ; yet see 
how cleverly she builds her nest. We could not do 
anything like it. 

Do you think all the birds build the same kind of 
nests ? No, indeed. God has taught the crow to 
build a very rough nest, made of any coarse material 
plastered with mud, which looks very different from 
the oriole's soft swinging home. The woodpecker 
makes a hole in a dead tree for its nest ; the quail 
scoops out a little hollow in the ground, thus making 
a place where its eggs may lie without rolling away ; 
while some birds build their nests in sandy banks. 

God has shown the robin how to hop along the 
ground and pull out the worms. He has taught the 
seagull to dive down into the water and bring up a 
little fish. The blue jay picks the insects off the trees 
as easily as we pick up and eat a piece of bread. 

Not only has God given the birds this ability to 
take care of themselves, but he has not forgotten 
the other animals. The deer has very quick hearing, 
and is so fleet of foot that it can flee away from its 
enemies ; the squirrel gets ready for the winter by 
storing up fruit and nuts ; the gopher keeps from 
sight in its underground passages, where it can feed 
upon the roots of plants and trees. Many of the 



60 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

smaller animals are not easily seen, as they are col- 
ored very much like the ground or the trees where 
they are most often found. 

Did you ever notice the spider's web with its fine 
threads woven so regularly and so securely fastened ? 
It must be a wonderful being who could teach the 
tiny spider to make this strong but fine web. 
Think, too, of the beautiful silk that the silkworm 
weaves. How is it possible for so small an animal 
to make so lovely fine silk and so much of it ? 
Only God could teach him. 

There are thousands of just such curious and 
wonderful things that we could see going on all 
about us if only we opened our eyes to see them. 
These are not hidden away in God's- storehouses, but 
are placed right before us for our enjoyment and to 
teach us of God's wonderful power. Perhaps some- 
time we can talk again of the curious and interesting 
things the dear Father has taught the creatures he 
has put on this earth. 

MEMORY GEM. 

Then the little Hiawatha 
Learned of every bird its language ; 
Learned their names and all their secrets, 
How they built their nests in summer, 
Where they hid themselves in winter ; 
Talked with them whene'er he met them ; 
Called them " Hiawatha's chickens." 

Of all beasts he learned the language, 
Learned their names and all their secrets, 
How the beavers built their lodges, 
Where the squirrels hid their acorns, 
How the reindeer ran so swiftly, 
Why the rabbit was so timid ; 
Talked with them whene'er he met them ; 
Called them " Hiawatha's brothers." 

— He?iry W. Longfellow. 



ANIMAL LIFE. 6 1 

OCCUPATION. 

Pictures of curious animals will help to illustrate 
this lesson. Different kinds of birds' nests will add 
to the interest. Bits of straw and twine, horsehair, 
and ravellings of worsted can be given to the chil- 
dren that they may try to weave a nest like some 
one of the birds' nests shown. 

STORY. — A MONGREL'S MEMORIES. 

" I am a white-haired dog, and people call me 
Princey. I used to be very merry, and would jump 
and snap at everything I saw just for sheer joy. 
What fun it was to run after horses and bark at 
their heels ! They did n't seem to think so, and would 
sometimes try to send me off with their hind legs ; 
but, whenever I met a horse so rude as that, I was 
offended, and wouldn't play any more. But now 
things are changed ; for I am getting old and fat, 
and I do n't seem to like to exert myself as much as 
I did ; a comfortable mat or a cosey window-seat, 
where I can see all the other little dogs running 
about, suits me better. My life has been a happy one 
as a whole. The beginning was n't very nice. I was 
uglier than all my brother puppies, and that was 
unpleasant. 

" At last I was given away to a little schoolboy. 
He never had a dog of his own before ; so he thought 
a great deal of me, and cuddled me up in his arms, 
and said the nicest things to me. He never forgot 
to feed me but once, and then he was so sorry about 
it that he gave me a splendid dinner and begged my 
pardon in the most polite manner, which I thought 
was very handsome of him, for people usually for- 
get that we dogs have any feelings with regard to 
being treated politely. 

" I had n't been used to such kind treatment, so I 



62 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

did n't know how to show my gratitude. I began 
licking his face, but he didn't seem to like that 
much, and put me down ; but I loved him, and 
always have loved that little boy all my life. 

" He took me to his house and showed me to his 
brothers and sisters. Some of them liked me and 
some did n't. ' Ugly little mongrel,' one said. But 
' my little boy,' as I've always called him, stood up 
for me, and I was allowed to stay. I had a hard job 
to make them like me. I would run and fetch 
things to please them, and soon learned to beg and 
hold the sugar on my nose without letting it drop. 
The brother who had called me an ' ugly little mon- 
grel ' taught me that. 

" < My little boy ' was always my chief friend. He 
and I understood each other ; for a wag of my tail 
meant more to him than half a dozen barks would 
tell other people. 

" And now I am thinking about that eventful day 
in my life when I, the ' ugly little mongrel,' showed 
' my little boy ' how I loved him. 

" We had been in the habit of going to school 
together. I mean he went to school, and I went to 
the gate of the playground with him, where he always 
bade me good-by. 

"Well, that day we had been so happy going 
through the lanes, he whistling and skipping as we 
went along, and I running and barking by his side, 
when all at once — I never understood the reason — 
he tripped and fell. I was in front at the time ; but 
I soon ran back, and there he lay so white and still ! 
To this day I can scarcely think of it without a 
sniff. I was so excited that I did not know what to 
do. I ran a wee bit ; then I ran back again, licked 
his face and hands, and was nearly heartbroken, 
when he suddenly opened his eyes, looked as if he 
didn't know poor Princey for a minute, and then 



ANIMAL LIFE. 63 

said, ' O, I remember ; I fell, did n't I ? And you 
have waited beside me, have you ? Good old doggie.' 
I whined and wagged my tail, as if I would have left 
him ! 

" Then he tried to get up, but could n't, as his 
foot seemed to double up so ; then he tried to crawl 
along on his hands and knees ; but after a minute or 
two I heard him say, ' It's no use ; I can't keep on ' ; 
and he sunk back on the ground. ' Now, Princey,' 
he said, turning to me, ' I wonder if you will under- 
stand.' I pricked up my ears to try my utmost. 
1 You must go home. I 'm sure I 've either sprained 
my ankle very badly or broken it, and you must 
bring help.' 

" I whined again, and licked his hands, for I knew 
what he meant, and was determined to do it. 

"'But here,' he said, 'I'd better make sure.' 
With that he took off his necktie. ' Now, my brave 
dog, away home and bring help.' 

" I needed no more, and away I ran as I never ran 
before. 

" On reaching home, I tore up the stairs, rushed 
into the sitting-room, and caught hold of the servant's 
dress with my teeth. 

" ' Bless the puppy, what's the matter with him ? ' 
But I only barked and tugged the more. 

" « Look here, children,' she called out, ' there's 
something wrong with this puppy; just look at him.' 

" They all came around me, and I ran first to one 
and then to another, jumping to each of them, till at 
last one said, < Why, he has Archie's tie around his 
neck.' 

" I barked louder at this, and ran to the door. 
They followed me, and I still ran on. ' Let's see 
what he means,' I was glad to hear them say ; and 
they came on after me, and I led them to where ' my 
little boy ' lay. He was lying quite still and moaning 



64 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

painfully, but he was glad to see his brothers and 
sisters. 

" Well, after some little time he was carried home, 
and I did n't see him for hours ; but the rest of the 
children were so kind to me. ' Was n't it clever of 
Princey ? ' said one. ' He's just a dear little doggie,' 
said another. 

" At last I saw my < dear little boy ' ; he had asked 
for me, and I was taken to see him. What we said 
to each other I cannot exactly remember, we were 
both so much moved ; but I know it sealed a lifelong 
friendship. And now years have passed since that 
day ; and, though he is grown up, and I am no longer 
a puppy, it is still his footsteps that I listen for, his 
voice I hunger for ; and his l There, there, good old 
Princey,' seems to realize my idea of happiness." 




PEACE BE TO THIS HOUSE. 
From a painting by Dobson. 



LESSON VIII. 

MAN. 

" Behold the birds of the heaven ; your heavenly Father feedeth 
them. Are not ye of much more value than they ? " — Matt. 6 : 26. 

Can you think of the world as God looked upon it 
so many ages ago, before there were any people 
here ? It was covered with beautiful green, — the 
great trees, the shrubs and plants, the grass and 
flowers. Do you remember the verse we had from 
the Bible, " Consider the lilies of the field, how they 
grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin : yet I say 
unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not 
arrayed like one of these"? Where did the lilies 
and the other flowers get their beauty ? Then there 
was the ocean, with its changing blue and green and 
gray. Beautiful brooks flowed peacefully along by 
wooded shores, and grew into broad rivers, or became 
cataracts falling over the rocks. The waters were 
thronged with fishes and all the various sea-animals ; 
the land was covered with creatures of many kinds ; 
and the air was filled with birds and insects. At 
night the bright stars and the shining moon gave 
light to the earth. 

God was pleased with the world which he had 
made, but one thing more was necessary before his 
work was finished. " God said, Let us make man 
in our image, after our likeness : and let them have 
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl 
of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, 
and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon 
the earth." 

65 



66 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

God planned the world for the needs of all the 
animals ; everything they could care for was on the 
earth ready for them, but the world was not made 
for them alone. The world and all there is upon it 
God made for men, women, and children, for their 
enjoyment and for their good. He made man very 
different from any of the other animals. Some of 
the animals know more and can understand more 
than others. Some of them can remember; others 
have no memory. Dogs often show great fondness 
for their masters ; pigs do not seem to know any 
difference between those that daijy give them food 
and those that do not. But God gave to people 
much more than to any animal. He gave them 
greater knowledge and understanding. They have 
minds, and the power to care for and use more of 
the good things about them. God has given us 
power over the animals, and he expects us to care 
for them and be kind to them. He has taught us 
how to use the animals ; how to train the elephant 
to carry heavy loads, the horse to draw the carriage, 
and the dog to protect the house and its people. 

We can think, we can study, we can learn, we can 
teach others. But God has given us much more than 
this. We have something that no animal has at all. 
After a time the dog and the cat, the horse and the 
cow, can no longer run about. They are dead, and 
that is the end of them. They have no longer any 
life. But God has given to people souls that will 
always live. God will live forever. There will al- 
ways be God. We, too, shall live forever. In that 
God has made us like himself. We have not always 
lived as he has. s There was a time when there were 
no you and I, when there were no people at all. You 
know we have been talking about it. We have not 
all power as God has. You know he can do any- 
thing. But he has given us souls that shall live 



MAN. 67 

forever ; so he wishes us to try to live good, pure 
lives like his, to do what is right, to be kind and 
loving and unselfish, that we may live with him 
forever. 

God watches over us all the time, and is always 
ready to help us do what is right ; he is always near 
us to care for us, that no harm may come to us ; he 
loves us because we are his children. 



MEMORY GEM. 

God 's in his heaven, 

All 's right with the world. 

— Robert Browning. 



OCCUPATION, 

With the sand-box and grass, twigs, flowers, and 
moss make a portion of the earth. On this place 
different animals (if nothing better is at hand, cut 
pictures from some paper), and among them two 
or three men. Let the men use the oxen to plough, 
or the carrier pigeon to carry some message, being 
careful to have them always thoughtful and kind to 
the animals. 

The principal point to bring out in this lesson is 
the fact that God has given to man an imperishable 
soul. Make it easy for the children to understand. 

STORY. — PHILLY'S FAIRIES. 

Once upon a time there was a poor little boy who 
did not live at home, but had to work for his clothes 
and what he had to eat. Most of the time he was 
good, and kept still when the people for whom he 
worked were cross, and would not be satisfied, no 
matter what he did to please them. 



68 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

One hot day, Philly had been running errands 
until it was almost dark ; then he ran out in the 
twilight, — that is always the fairies' best time, you 
know, — and he threw himself on the grass under a 
great green apple-tree. 

He began wondering whether there were ever 
going to be bright, nice things for him such as some 
boys had, when all at once there was the most beau- 
tiful little object right in the middle of that apple- 
tree. She was swinging on a twig, and her dress 
was all lace, and her face was white and sweet. 

Then Philly looked, and there in the sky was such 
a rainbow ! Pink and blue and yellow and green, 
all in stripes. All in and out of the rainbow were 
tiny little specks of fairies. They had wings no 
bigger than a butterfly's ; and they danced on noth- 
ing ; and their yellow, golden hair was like crowns 
all around their dear little faces. They did not look 
at Philly lying there so still, with his eyes shut, 
under the green apple-tree ; but he could see that 
they were watching the lovely fairy in the tree, and 
then poor Philly saw that the queen fairy was look- 
ing right at him. It set him trembling, for her eyes 
were not like any eyes he had ever seen before. Soon 
he felt better ; he forgot his hard work, and begun 
to wonder whether such a little beauty did not have 
a sweet voice, and whether she would speak to 
him. 

Just then the little angel said : " Yes, I know all 
about it, poor little Philly. All about the hard work, 
and all the long errands, and the tiredness way inside 
your little jacket where your heart 's beating. But 
I have something that will help you. It will make 
you forget the hard work and the tired aches." 
Then she shook her fairy wand, and cried, " Come, 
little Patience ; go shake your fairy dew over Philly, 
and help him to be like you." 



MAN. 69 

And one of the beautiful fairies, with eyes just as 
blue as the sky, came and shook some little pink and 
gold shells over Philly. It made him feel better and 
stronger, and he began to wonder what had made him 
think it was so hard to do right, and he felt as if 
some one cared for him. Poor little Philly, who 
worked so hard all day ! 

Then the fairy in the apple-tree called again, 
" Come, little Forgive ; take your fairy harp and go 
and sing to Philly one of your sweet songs." 

And the rainbow swung in the sky, and down flew 
a cunning little fairy with a harp full of the finest 
strings, and she sung and sung, and the tears ran 
down Philly's face ; but they were glad tears, and he 
wanted to forgive folks for being cross and hard, and 
never thinking to say, "Thank you." 

Then again the fairy called, " Come, little Love ; 
go throw your elfin sparks over this Philly boy, and 
let him taste the most beautiful thing there ever 
was ; and that is love." 

The rainbow threw out fresh streaks of red and pink 
and yellow and green ; and a shining creature came 
flying along ; and all the air grew full of roses and 
lilies and other sweet flowers ; and she flew to and 
fro right over Philly's head ; and the rainbow sparks 
came dropping, dropping like cool showers over his 
face until he felt all covered over with love. And 
the angel in the apple-tree cried : " Now you know 
there 's some one loves and watches you, Philly. I 
can't speak the name, because it's holy. But this 
Love is everywhere, and all the boys and girls and 
little children are under its beautiful colors. It 
loves them forever and ever, even when they are 
cross and naughty ; and, if they only let them, all its 
little spirits, Patience and Forgive and all the rest, 
would come and help them. There are always lovely 
spirits in the air, Philly, and they really want to be 



70 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

the children's friends, and they want to be the friends 
of everybody." 

Then all the fairy angels spread their little webby 
wings and faded into the air, and the rainbow got 
further and further, and melted softly away, and 
Philly opened his eyes. He tried to remember what 
he had seen ; but he could not, only that some one 
had come and talked to him about loving him. Then 
he said to himself, dreamy-like, " There 's certainly 
been some one trying to make me feel better, and 
I want to be a real good boy." — Adapted from 
" Little Jo lliby s Christmas" by Harriet A. Cheever. 
Congregational Publishing Society. 



LESSON IX. 
CONTENTMENT. 

" God saw that it was good.'''' — Gen. i : 25. 

The Bible, after telling how God made the earth 
and the plants and the animals, says, " God saw that 
it was good" After he had made man the Bible 
says again, " God saw everything that he had made, 
and, behold, it was very good." 

God gives us our homes, our fathers and mothers, 
our friends, our pleasures, our playthings, our food. 
Whatever we have comes from God, and he sees that 
it is all good for us. We may not have so fine a 
house or so many toys as some other child whom we 
know ; but we have what God gives us, we have just 
what God sees is best for us, and therefore it is 
"good." As God sees that it is good for us, so we 
also should feel that it is good. 

Instead of fussing because we have not a doll as 
large as Helen's, or a top that sings when it spins 
like Frank's, we should be glad that we have any 
doll or any top. How kind God has been to give us 
toys ! Let us try to be glad and happy with what- 
ever we have. If we share our playthings with 
others, we shall make them happy and ourselves 
also. If we smile and are good-natured all the 
time, we shall be a little like God, for we thus show 
that we also think that what he gives is good. 

Very often it is cloudy or it rains, and then we 
cannot see the sun ; but, if there is a little boy or 
girl with a sunny face, one that is happy and glad 

71 



72 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

all day long, it is like having sunshine in the house. 
If, when papa comes down to breakfast, he sees his 
little boy with a bright and happy face, he will 
remember it all day long, and it will help him. If 
the dear sunny girl does not complain because it 
rains and keeps her in the house, and is happy 
with her playthings, then her round little face seems 
like the merry sun itself. She therefore helps to 
make big brother and sister happier and better 
through the day because she thinks that whatever 
God sends is good. 

But there is some one else, whom the bright little 
face helps the most of any one, and that is mamma. 
How great a help it is to her, when she is busy and 
perhaps tired, to have her little boy play happily 
with what playthings he has, and not tease for 
others or wish that he had something new, a drum 
or a train of cars ! 

If Myra frets because she has no doll-carriage as 
Edith has, it makes mamma feel bad ; but, if Myra 
plays with her dolly with a happy face, and thinks 
that a box that she can pull with a string will do just 
as well to take her doll to ride in, then mamma is 
happy and Myra is pleasing God. 

When boys and girls are happy with what God has 
given them, and do not wish for what they have not, 
they not only please God, but they are really helping 
him. Think of it. It is a wonderful thing that God has 
arranged that we can really help him. We love to 
help father and mother, and feel that we are pretty 
big when we can really help mamma, but how much 
more it is to be able to help God ! Little boys and 
little girls can help God carry out his great plan, and 
it is a part of this same beautiful plan that all his 
children shall be happy and contented all the time. 

So, when little boys or girls are sunny and pleasant 
all day, then they are mamma's sunshines. If we 



CONTENTMENT. 73 

learn to be happy and contented when children, 
we shall grow up to be cheerful men and women. 
Suppose we try to be little sunshines each day. 

MEMORY GEM. 

I know not where his islands lift 

Their fronded palms in air ; 
I only know I cannot drift 

Beyond his love and care. 

— John G. Whittier. 

OCCUPATION. 

Provide several sheets of stiff paper, mucilage, 
pencils, scissors, and some blocks. 

Ask each child to think of something that he 
would like to have to play with the next week, and 
then see whether he cannot make with the blocks or 
cut from the paper something that will take the place 
of the desired article. If he cannot do this for him- 
self, help him a little by suggestions. If the teacher 
can think of no way to make the particular object, 
lead the child's mind to something else. Tell him 
that perhaps God wishes him to do without that par- 
ticular toy and to be satisfied with something else. 
If possible, however, the teacher should help the 
child carry out his original plan. Let the teacher 
think beforehand how to make as many different kinds 
of toys as possible. 

To make a rocking-horse, draw and cut from the 
paper two horses, and fasten them together by a strip 
of paper gummed to each horse. On top of this can 
be placed a paper boy. 

For a doll's rocking-chair a little practice before- 
hand will enable the teacher to help the child draw 
a shape that when cut out will fold to form a rock- 
ing-chair. 



74 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

STORY, -SUPPOSE. 

"Now you will have the whole morning for play," 
said the two mammas, as they went into the house, 
leaving the little cousins alone on the doorstep of the 
old farmhouse kitchen. 

" What shall we do first ? " said Phoebe, who lived 
on the farm, while Kittie was only making her a 
visit. " What do you like to play best ? " 

"I don't know," said Kittie; "I like lawn-tennis 
very well. We often have lots of fun at home on 
the sidewalk with our roller skates ; and, O, 'authors.' 
Do n't you like that ? " 

" What is it ? " and Kittie described the game. 

"But I have no games," said Phoebe. - " I used to 
have a croquet set once, but some of the balls are 
lost, and I do n't know where to find the wickets. 
They are all broken, anyhow." 

" Have you a lawn-tennis court ? " 

" No, but I saw one once." Phoebe was beginning 
to feel bad. 

" Well, what do you play, then ? " said Kittie, who 
was quite ready for any new fun. 

"O ! " cried Phcebe, brightening at once, " I play 
'suppose.' " 

" What — is — that ? " said Kittie. 

"Why, pretend, you know. We can begin now. 
Let us climb up on the wood-pile and pretend we are 
two little girls ! " 

" But we 're that now," said Kittie. 

" O, well, never mind ; we can pretend we're not," 
called out Phoebe, who was already scrambling up the 
wood-pile. " Let 's play suppose this was a desert 
island, and we were two shipwrecked sailors. No, 
I '11 be the sailor, because I know the place better ; 
and you can be a lady, and I '11 do everything to 
rescue you and your child." 



CONTENTMENT. 75 

" I wish I had my doll," said Kittie. 

" Never mind about the doll," said Phoebe. 
" Here, let us pretend this was your child," and 
she thrust into the astonished Kittie's arms a small, 
round log. "Ah, ma'am, how sorry I am for your 
troubles ! But let me lead you to a place of 
safety. Sit down and rest on this moss. (Pretend 
this log is moss.) Here is a place for your precious 
baby. I '11 go and catch some fish, and you must be 
fixing things at home. Get some chips together, and 
surprise me with a fire when I come back. Play 
suppose I was your husband. Do n't be anxious, 
dear ; I '11 come back with food for you and our child. 
I 'm going to fish. I '11 climb down and pick up some 
apples. We can play they are roots that are good to 
eat." 

"Well," said Kittie, a little puzzled by Phoebe's 
lively "supposes," but beginning to think it great 
fun, " I '11 dress the child in my apron ; and, when 
we 've had the apples, I '11 go with you and explore." 

" O, yes ! " exclaimed Phoebe, " We will cross to 
the barn on the top of the stone wall, and pretend 
the hens are wild beasts. I hear one of them growl- 
ing now ; she must have laid an Qgg. ,y 

All the long summer days the two little girls 
played in the shadow of the great barn or by the 
haymows or the old stone wall. It was all a new 
world to Kittie, and was there ever such a playmate 
as Phoebe ? She was never at a loss. Did the sun 
shine too hotly on the little heads, making Kittie 
impatient to reach the shade in the meadows beyond, 
Phoebe was ready with : " Let us play suppose we 
were riding on camels in the desert. Put your hand- 
kerchief on your head for a turban, Kittie, and take 
care your camel does not kneel down." And how 
short the way became ! 

Were they sent to the village on an errand, then 



y6 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

at once they became an army, marching to attack 
the town with banners of goldenrod and muskets of 
mullein-stalks, or they were two yellow butterflies, 
bound to touch every purple thistle-top they passed 
on their way. 

Some of the very happiest days were the ones 
when Phcebe played suppose that Kittie was a queen, 
dressed in a white window-curtain, with a truly ele- 
gant crown made of dried apples around her head ; 
and she was, by turns, her dressing-maid, her 
prancing steed, or one of her loyal subjects. Then 
suddenly the two little girls would become two 
brown mice, and scamper from the attic to the 
•pantry and back again, with cookies and bits of 
cheese in their hands. 

All too quickly the summer days passed, and 
Kittie was on her way to her city home again. 

"You will miss Phoebe, shall you not ? " said her 
mother, as they were sitting together in the parlor 
car. " What will you do without her ? " 

"I don't know," said Kittie, thoughtfully. "Do 
you know, mamma, I have ever so many more things 
at home than she has ; but Phcebe never seems to 
need them, because she can have everything — don't 
you see ? — as long as she can play 'suppose.' " — Ger- 
trude Linnell. 



LESSON X. 

THE SEVENTH DAY. 

" Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy " — Exod. 20 : 8. 

When God had finished making the earth, when 
the grass and trees had grown, when the fishes and 
animals had been made, and when even man was 
here on the earth, then God rested from his work. 
The Bible says, "The heavens and the earth were 
finished, and all the host of them." God ended his 
work which he had made, and he rested from all his 
work, and God blessed the day and hallowed it. 

After a time, when there were a great many peo- 
ple on the earth, God gave them ten commandments, 
which taught what he wanted them to do. One of 
the commandments was this : " Remember the Sab- 
bath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, 
and do all thy work : but the seventh day is a sab- 
bath unto the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do 
any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy 
man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, 
nor the stranger that is within thy gates." Then it 
tells how the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea 
and animals, and then rested; "wherefore the Lord 
blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." 

How beautiful a thing it is that God gave us one 
day in seven to rest from our work, to be God's day ; 
and he blessed it ! In the commandment it says we 
shall do no work ; that means no unnecessary work. 
We must eat each day, that we may live. The 

77 



78 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

animals, too, must be fed. God would not wish to 
have the animals suffer. We should feed them and 
care for them, but not make them work when there 
is no need of it. 

We ought to do on God's day what will please 
him. We are so busy during the week that we often 
have but little time to read his book, or to think of 
all that he has done for us. So Sunday is given to 
us in which to stop and enjoy his beautiful world. 
How pleasant it is on Sunday morning to hear the 
church bells ringing, calling all the people, young 
and old, to come to God's house, to the church that 
men have built in which to worship him ! They 
invite us to come and praise God, to offer thanks for 
his loving care, and to listen to his word. 

The Sunday school is ours also, where we can go 
to learn about God, and to try to understand his 
word and sing his praise. How could we have any 
of these pleasant things if God had not given us 
Sunday for a day of rest ? 

When Jesus came on the earth, he greatly enjoyed 
the Sabbath day. He loved to go and spend the day 
with his dear friends, Martha and Mary and Lazarus. 
You know Jesus had no home, no house of his own 
to live in. If he had had, do you not believe that 
in that home the Sabbath would have been a beauti- 
ful day ? I think he would have made it the most 
pleasant day of all the week ; not a day to run and 
jump and hollo in, but one in which all was quiet and 
peaceful, in which we could sing and talk of God. I 
feel sure he would have made the day so delightful 
that, if we were there with him, we should be very 
glad when the Sabbath came. We should have looked 
forward to that day all the week. I think that, if we 
had been with Jesus then, we should have had smil- 
ing faces all the time, we should have been kind and 
loving so as never to spoil his beautiful Sabbath. 



THE SEVENTH DAY. 79 

Can we not now have just as pleasant a Sabbath as 
he would have had ? We can, if we try. 



MEMORY GEM, 

He goes on Sunday to the church, 

And sits among his boys ; 
He hears the parson pray and preach ; 

He hears his daughter's voice 
Singing in the village choir, 

And it makes his heart rejoice. 

— Henry W. Lo?igfellow. 

OCCUPATION, 

Build with the blocks a church, impressing the 
thought that every part should be perfect and beau- 
tiful, — that which does not show, as well as the 
parts that are seen, — because it is God's house. 

STORY, -CARL'S SUNDAY. 

Ding, dong, dell ! ding, dong, dell ! 

"Listen to the church bells!" said the sweet- 
faced lady Carl was learning to call Aunt Mary. 
" Listen ! Ding, dong, dell ! How pretty ! " 

Carl ran to the window, threw back his golden 
head, and listened. " It's like talking," he said. 
" But what are they saying ? Perhaps they want 
me to come to church." 

" Ding, dong, dell ! ding, dong, dell ! " said the 
bells, louder than ever. " Come, Carl, come ! Come, 
Carl, come ! " 

" Would you like to go with us this morning, 
Carl ? We all go to church each Sunday morning. 
It would not seem like Sunday to us if we did not 
go to church," said Aunt Mary. 

As Carl sat with his aunt and cousins in the old- 



80 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

fashioned country church, he thought how different 
it was from Sunday at his own home. His father 
worked late Saturday night ; so he was tired Sunday 
morning, and did not go to church. Carl must be 
quiet so as not to disturb him. Indeed, Sunday was 
a very dismal day for little Carl when at home. 
Even the church bells sounded different from those 
he heard this Sunday morning when his Aunt Mary 
had softly quoted " Ding, dong, dell" ; for then he 
was not going to church. 

Carl kept thinking about the bells and how they 
had sounded ; he did not know that he ought to 
listen to the sermon. As he tried to remember just 
how they sounded, he thought it was something like 
this, " Listen, listen, listen." So Carl began to 
listen to what the minister was saying. 

" Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 
How can we- keep it holy ? How can these little 
children keep God's day holy ? First, by always 
remembering that it is God's day, by trying to do 
just what they know will please him, by learning, 
more of him." Then Carl began to wonder whether 
he had ever tried to please God on this day. 

When church was through, Carl went with his 
cousin Alice into the Sunday school. He had never 
been to Sunday school, and had so good a time sing- 
ing the motion songs and hearing the other children 
repeat the Bible verses ! But the best of all was 
when they came to the lesson, and the teacher 
showed them a bunch of grapes with some grape 
leaves, and also some thorns, and told them how 
Jesus said that the sweet, juicy grapes cannot grow 
on thorn-bushes ; that, if we wish to be loved, we 
must be loving and kind, we must bear good fruit as 
does the grape-vine, and not be like the thorn that 
pricks. 

When they reached home again, they had dinner, 



THE SEVENTH DAY. 8 1 

and each one of the children had something to eat 
that he liked especially ; and Carl saw that his aunt 
had even found out what he cared most for, and had 
set it beside his plate. After dinner he and Alice 
put the Bible puzzles together, while the older chil- 
dren cut out and pasted into their Sunday books 
such pretty pictures as they could find a Bible verse 
for, which they wrote under the picture. 

The afternoon was gone too soon for Carl, who 
was having so good a time that he hated to stop ; 
but he remembered just in time about pleasing God. 
After supper the children all gathered around Aunt 
Mary's chair, while she told them one of the beauti- 
ful Bible stories, and had a quiet little talk with them. 
Next the children recited their verses, for each had 
selected and learned one for that day. When it 
came Carl's turn, his Aunt Mary asked him whether 
he would like a verse also. 

" O auntie, may I have the one about ' Remember 
the Sabbath day to keep it holy ' ? I think that is 
such a lovely one." 

" Certainly, you may have that one ; " and his aunt 
took him up on her knee, and told the other children 
to go up to bed, and she would come soon. When 
they were gone and all was quiet, she said, " Has it 
been a pleasant day, Carl ? " 

" Yes, Aunt Mary, the best time I ever had. I 
never liked Sunday at home. Is it because it is all 
so quiet here, auntie? I never thought much about 
going to church before ; but now I shall want to go 
when I hear the bells calling, ' Come, come, come.' " 

" It is because we have all tried to do what will 
please God on his day that we have found the day 
such a pleasant one. Listen ; there are the church 
bells again for evening service, ' Ding, dong, dell, 
Carl, good Carl.' " 

After a few minutes, in which both Carl and 



82 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

auntie were still, she said : " Hark ! Only one bell 
is ringing now — ' Dong, dong, dong. Come, come, 
come ' ; and where do you think, Carl ? " 

" To bed, I suppose. Well, if the bell wants me 
to, I'll go." 

As sleepy Carl's eyes began to close, he said, 
" Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 




THE GUARDIAN ANGEL. 
From a painting by B. Plockhorst. 



LESSON XL 

SIN. 

" To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him 
it is sin." — Jas. 4 : iy. 

When the world had been made ready for people, 
and God had made man, and given him a wonderful 
soul that should always live, then he made a beautiful 
garden for him to live in. In the garden God made 
" to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, 
and good for food." Gold and beautiful stones were 
to be found there. The garden was full of sweet 
flowers. Many different kinds of birds sung wonder- 
ful songs. Here, in this lovely garden of Eden, that 
God had made so pleasant for him, Adam lived. 

He "gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of 
the air, and to every beast of the field." It must 
have been very pleasant to Adam to watch the ani- 
mals, to learn their ways, and to get acquainted with 
them. As he came to know their lives, and how 
they cared for themselves, he could give them names 
that were like them. 

Thus Adam lived among the flowers and animals, 
but he was lonely. The dog and the sheep could not 
talk to him. He wished to have some one who could 
understand his thoughts, who could be glad with him, 
and who could enjoy all the beautiful flowers, the 
songs of the birds, and the good fruit of the trees. 

God knew how lonely Adam was ; and he made a 
woman whom he called Eve, and she lived with 
Adam, and they were very happy together. They 
wandered about in the beautiful garden ; they 

83 



84 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

watched the flowers as they opened from bud to 
full bloom. They listened to the different songs of 
the birds. They saw the squirrels frisking about, 
and the bees as they flew here and there, gathering 
honey. 

I do not believe the animals were as timid then as 
they are now. It is because boys and girls, and 
sometimes men and women, have been unkind and 
cruel to the animals, that they have become afraid. 
Do you not believe that Adam and Eve were de- 
lighted when they saw the first little kittens ? 

So the two people spent the happy days watching 
the many different kinds of animals as they frolicked 
here and there, or noticing the white clouds as they 
sailed along against the blue sky. Perhaps one 
would say to the other, " How kind God is to us 
to have made the sky with so beautiful colors, 
and to have the clouds change their shape and color 
for our pleasure ! " Then, perhaps, they would thank 
God for the fruit which tasted so good to them. 
Wherever they were, and whatever they were doing, 
they could always find something good or beautiful 
that God had made for them. But they did not 
know of nearly so many wonderful things that God 
had planned as we know about, and even we have 
not found all the good things yet. 

Sometimes God also walked with them in the gar- 
den ; and they talked together, and were perfectly 
happy, because they did only what was right. They 
were pure and holy, doing just what pleased God. 

In the garden was one tree the fruit of which God 
said they were not to eat. How many of you can 
think of something that your father or mother says 
you are not to eat ? There were a great many differ- 
ent kinds of fruit-trees, more fruit than Adam and 
Eve could eat. God knew that it was not best for 
them to eat the fruit of that tree, and so he told 



SIN. 85 

them not to eat it. Surely, when they had the fruit 
of so many other trees, they would not even think of 
touching that one. 

But they looked at the tree, and thought how good 
the fruit seemed. Then they kept wishing that they 
had some. That is where they did wrong. They 
ought not to have thought any more about the for- 
bidden fruit, but only of the good things that were 
theirs. When they kept wishing for the fruit, they 
finally tasted, and then ate. They did what God 
had told them not to do. They were no longer 
happy. They hid themselves when God walked in 
the garden. They were afraid to meet him, because 
they were no longer holy and pure. They had done 
wrong, and they knew it ; and they knew God must 
be displeased with them. 

MEMORY GEM. 

I woke before the morning, 

I was happy all the day, 
I never said an ugly word, 

But smiled, and stuck to play. 

And now at last the sun is going 

Down behind the wood, 
And I am very happy, 

For I know that I 've been good. 

— Robert Louis Stevenson. 

OCCUPATION. 

Make the garden of Eden, and place in it tiny 
branches for trees, one of them to represent the 
tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Show 
the children how much better it would have been, 
had they turned away from the temptation, instead 
of lingering and looking at the tree. 



86 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

STORY, — THE FAIRY AND THE GNOME. 

" I was just a little thing 

When a fairy came and kissed me ; 
Floating in upon the light 
Of a haunted summer night, 
Lo, the fairies came to sing 
Pretty slumber songs, and bring 

Certain boons that else had missed me. 
From a dream I turned to see 
What those strangers brought to me, 

When that fairy up and kissed me ; 

Here, upon this cheek, he kissed me." 

I wish this little child could have seen the fairy, 
Fairy Pure Heart, I call her, when she kissed him. 
Never was there a sweeter face than had Fairy Pure 
Heart, with her deep, true eyes, her smiling mouth 
and earnest look. I wish you could know how much 
she longed to do for the little child when she kissed 
him. Little Fairy Pure Heart hoped to make his 
life beautiful ; wished to lead him in the right paths, 
to help him over the rough places. The fairy loved 
the child so much that she went wherever he did. 
Hand in hand they wandered, or they lay side by 
side. When the child slept, the fairy whispered 
sweet dreams to him, — dreams of helping those 
about him, and making others happy. 

But, if you could have seen sweet Fairy Pure 
Heart, you would have seen Gnome Unfit, who also 
was ever hovering around the child. I should be 
sorry to have you see his face, for it never looked 
happy. The eyes did not look straight at one, 
but turned away as if he had done wrong ; an ugly 
frown lay between them, and the mouth did not 
smile. It was not a pleasant face, so I am glad 
you could not see it. As the little child grew 
older, the fairy and the gnome still stayed with him. 



SIN. 87 

He could not see them any more than we can, 
but he often heard their voices. Fairy Pure Heart's 
voice was soft and sweet, like the song of a bird, and 
made the child glad. But the gnome had a very 
unpleasant voice ; and, when he whispered to the 
child, there came into the face of the child a little 
look like his, which was not pleasant to see. 

The fairy and the gnome were not happy together, 
for oftentimes Fairy Pure Heart would whisper some 
pleasant thing to the child, and then Unfit would say 
just the opposite. Sometimes one would say, " Do 
this," and the other would say, " No, don't." 

One day the child was playing with other chil-. 
dren, and wished to play horse, to ride "fierce and 
fast, till the horse breaks down at last." But the 
other children wanted to play something else. Fairy 
Pure Heart whispered, " Do as the others wish ; " but 
Unfit said : " No, don't ; you always give in to the 
others. To play horse is more fun." And the child 
said to himself, " I won't do what Fairy Pure Heart 
says ; I will do as I want to." 

Then the dear fairy was driven a little way off, so 
that the next time she wished to whisper to the child, 
she could make him hear only when he was looking 
toward her. The child felt that Fairy Pure Heart 
was going away from him ; but, instead of telling her 
he was sorry, and asking her to stay with him, he 
said, " I do not care if she does go away. I am tired 
of her." 

Then the fairy was driven farther away, until the 
child no longer heard her voice, and she could only 
watch him from a long way off. As Fairy Pure 
Heart was driven away, Unfit was more often lis- 
tened to by the child, whose face began to look like 
that of this gnome, who was still with him, disagree- 
able and cross. The other children did not like to 
play with the child. 



88 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

I should not care to tell you this story if the child 
had always listened to the Gnome Unfit, for the 
story would be too sad. But sometimes he would 
not do the wrong thing that Unfit suggested ; and 
then this bad gnome could not whisper so loud, 
and dear Fairy Pure Heart was glad, and could come 
nearer the child. She could not get close enough to 
whisper to him ; but she sent beautiful thoughts 
toward him, and made so sweet music where she 
was that he caught faint strains of it, and longed to 
hear more. This made him again think of his Fairy 
Pure Heart, and he longed to have, her come back 
.to him. His very wish for her helped the fairy to 
come nearer ; and, when the child made up his mind 
that he would not listen to the gnome, but would 
always try to do what Fairy Pure Heart wished, then 
she stood close by his side, although he could not see 
her. Whenever the child was tempted to do what 
Fairy Pure Heart would not like, she whispered soft 
and low to him ; and the sadness in her voice made 
him think of the time when she had been so far 
away from him, and he had been so unhappy ; and 
then he promised her to try harder. 

Each one of us has been kissed by the fairy, and 
each of these two, Fairy Pure Heart and Gnome 
Unfit, hover about us, to whisper good or bad 
thoughts. You and I will listen to Fairy Pure 
Heart, and do all that we can to make her happy, 
for that is the only way in which we can be happy 
ourselves. 



LESSON XII. 
WORK. 

" She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands" 
— Prov.31 : ij. 

After Adam and Eve had eaten of the fruit of 
the tree that God had told them not to touch they 
felt very unhappy. They were no longer glad when 
they heard God's voice. They did not wish to see 
him. Can you not feel just how the lump would 
come in their throats when they tried to speak ? 
And do you not think they wished that they had not 
touched the fruit ? God loved them just the same, 
and yet they were afraid. They felt as if he did not 
love them. God was grieved and displeased because 
they had disobeyed him ; yet he loved them. 

Whenever we do wrong, we have to suffer the 
consequences ; that is, if we do what is wrong, that 
naughty thing which we do will someway make us 
unhappy. Adam and Eve ate of the fruit that God 
had told them not to touch, and so they could no 
longer live in the lovely garden, because they might 
eat of it again. God could not trust them, even 
though he loved them still. They must go away 
from the beautiful Eden and never enter it any 
more. 

Before this Adam had kept the garden of Eden ; 
but he had only to care for the different trees bear- 
ing fruit, and Adam and Eve had simply to pick the 
fruit and eat it when they were hungry. But, when 
they did wrong and could no longer live in this won- 

80 



90 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

derful garden, Adam was obliged to work much harder 
to get food for them. He dug up the ground, not as 
the farmers do now, with a plough drawn by a horse ; 
for he did not know how to have the animals help 
him. It must have been a great deal of work for 
him to get the land ready to plant the seeds ; and 
then the weeds grew right beside his good plants, 
and had to be pulled up just as they must be now. 

But after a time Adam saw his grain ripen and 
his vegetables grow large and good to eat, and he 
was glad, and enjoyed seeing the different plants 
grow. It is the same with us ; if we do our work 
the very best that we can, we shall be happy in 
seeing it well done. 

God helped Adam just as he helps us now. He 
sent down the bright, warm rays from the sun to 
start the tiny seeds buried in the ground ; and the 
gentle drops of rain to help them grow. Whatever 
we do, God always works with us and helps us. 

Suppose sometime the sun should grow tired of 
shining, and should hide itself for days and days. 
The beautiful fields of corn and wheat could not 
grow, neither could the plants and grass. Or, if 
there should be no rain for weeks, everything would 
become thirsty and dry. The flowers would droop 
and hang their heads. The grain would bend over 
toward the ground instead of standing up tall and 
straight and growing until it was fit to be made into 
food for the boys and girls, the men and women, to 
eat. A great many people would be made unhappy 
if the sun should stop shining or the rain should not 
fall again. 

Suppose some morning your father should say he 
was not going to do any work that day. Suppose 
when the next day came your father should again 
stay at home, and so on for a week or for two weeks. 
If he does not go to work, he earns no money ; if he 



WORK. 91 

has no money, he cannot buy flour from which bread 
is made, or the milk for you to drink, or the shoes 
for you to wear. Would you like it if some morning 
your mother should say : " It is too much work to 
get up and dress, too much work to care for the 
children. I think I will not do anything more for 
them." 

This would not do at all, would it ? We must each 
do our own work, whatever it is ; however small it 
may be, it is the work that God has given us to do, 
and we must each do % our part to make his beautiful 
plan perfect and whole. God has planned for us all 
to work, and there is a special work ready for each 
one of us to do. That work is ours, and no one else 
can do it so well as we, to carry out God's wish. If 
Frank forgets to bring in the kindlings, and his mother 
brings them in for him, the fire may burn just as well ; 
but Frank has lost a good gift, because that was his 
work to do and he did not do it. If he continues to 
forget, he will not grow up to be as strong and reli- 
able a man as he might have been, and God's plan 
has not been carried out, just because Frank kept 
forgetting the wood. 

Let us each try to do our own work the very best 
we can all the time, that we may not be the ones to 
spoil God's plan. 

MEMORY GEM. 

A fair little girl sat under a tree, 
Sewing as long as her eyes could see ; 
Then smoothed her work and folded it right, 
And said, " Dear work, good night, good night." 



OCCUPATION. 

Allow the children to plough, harrow, plant, and 
harvest as our farmers do at present. Bring out the 



92 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

thought that many persons are at work preparing 
the food we eat. 



STORY.— AMY STEWART. 

There was once a little girl named Amy Stewart, 
who liked to play all day in the garden among the 
flowers and birds. She said they talked to her. 

One day her mother said, " You are old enough 
now, Amy, to do a little work, and you must begin 
early to be industrious." 

" O mamma, I do not like to work ; may I not go 
in the woods and play before I begin to work ? " 

" As I have nothing ready for you to do just now, 
you may go for a little while," said her mother. 

So Amy ran out-of-doors. A pretty gray squirrel 
ran across her path, and she called to him, saying, 
" Dear squirrel, you have nothing to do but play and 
eat nuts, have you ? " 

" Yes," said Mr. Squirrel, " I have a large family 
to support, and I am busy laying up nuts for the 
winter ; so I cannot stop to play with you." 

Just then a bee came buzzing by. Amy said, 
" Little bee, do you have any work to do ? " 

" It seems to me I have no time for anything but 
work, getting honey and making the honeycomb." 

Amy now saw an ant carrying a crumb of bread. 

"Is not that crumb too heavy for you ? I wish you 
would drop it and play with me." 

"It is heavy, but I am too glad to get it not to be 
willing to carry it ; but I will stop long enough to 
tell you about a lazy day we once had. Our house 
was destroyed, and I was too lazy to help to build 
it ; and I said to my brothers, ' Let us go and travel ; 
perhaps we can find a house ready-made ; perhaps 
the butterflies will play with us.' We travelled a 
long way, but we found no ready-made house, and 



work. 93 

at last we were obliged to build one for ourselves. 
Since then we have been contented to do all the 
work that we find necessary." The ant then picked 
up the crumb of bread and hurried away. 

Amy sat down on a stone, and thought, " It seems 
to me all creatures have some work to do, and they 
seem to like it ; but I do not believe flowers have 
anything to do." So she walked up to a red poppy, 
and said, "Beautiful 'red poppy, do flowers work?" 

" Of course we do," said the poppy. " I have to 
take great care to gather all the red rays the good 
sun sends down to me, and I must keep, them in 
silken petals for you to use ; and the green rays 
must be untangled and held by my glossy leaves ; 
and my roots must drink water, my flowers must 
watch the days not to let the seed-time pass by, — 
ah, my child, I assure you we are a busy family, and 
that is why we are so happy." 

Amy walked slowly homeward, and said to her 
mother : " The squirrels, bees, ants, and even the 
flowers have something to do. I am the only idle 
one ; please give me some work to do." 

Then her mother brought her a towel to hem, which 
she had begun so long before that she had quite for- 
gotten it. She worked very faithfully, and grew to 
be an industrious woman, never forgetting that work 
makes us happier than idleness. — Anonymous. 



LESSON XIII. 

CAIN AND ABEL. 

" A wise son maketh a glad father." — Prov. 10 : i. 

After a time God gave to Adam and Eve a won- 
derful gift, one of the most precious things they could 
possibly have. * A baby ? Yes, indeed. A dear little 
son to love and care for, to teach and help. How 
glad Adam and Eve must have been ! What pleasure 
they must have found in watching the little boy 
grow ! Every little thing that he did, every new 
cunning way, was as great a joy and pleasure to 
them as it is to you or your mother while watching 
your baby. 

They called him Cain, which meant a " Posses- 
sion " to be cared for with all a mother's love, for 
he was a great gift from God. Adam and Eve loved 
him greatly. After a little he knew them, and 
would watch whatever they did, laughing and crow- 
ing with glee when they came toward him. By and by 
he began to walk, to run about among the flowers, 
and then to talk ; and so he grew. Each day his 
parents loved Tiim more and more, and were delighted 
with each new thing that he learned to do. To Eve 
the child was a great comfort and delight, and she 
watched over him tenderly and cared for him. 

Do you suppose he always did what was right ? 
I am afraid not. For even his mother's love could 
not make him cheerful and kind, loving and unself- 
ish. He wanted to have his own way always. He 
thought he knew better than any one else, better 

94 




MADONNA AND CHILD. 

From a painting by Roberto Ferrtizzi. 



CAIN AND ABEL. 95 

than his own father and mother, better even than 
God. Do you think he was happy ? No, he could 
not be happy, because he wanted to have his own 
way and to please himself only. 

Adam and Eve had another son after a time, and 
they called his name Abel, and they loved him even 
as they had loved Cain. But Abel was not like his 
brother. As he grew older, no scowl came on his 
forehead. Abel loved the sunshine and the flowers, 
the birds that sung, and the lambs that frisked about 
the meadows. He was happy all day long, and loved 
to make all about him happy, too. Do you not think 
Cain must have loved his younger brother Abel, who 
was so kind and good ? Cain did not love him, how- 
ever, and it was because Abel did what was right, 
and Cain did not. When we do wrong, we often feel 
unkind toward those who do right, because in our 
hearts we know that they are right and we are 
wrong. But when we begin to do right and are lov- 
ing and kind, then we love those about us. 

Cain and Abel grew to be men. Cain was still 
sullen and self-willed, while Abel was loving and 
gentle. Cain ploughed the ground and planted it, 
and gathered the fruit he had raised. Abel tended 
the sheep and flocks. I love to think of him as softly 
playing some instrument, perhaps reeds of different 
lengths that he had made into pipes, playing soft 
tunes and singing as he watched the sheep while 
they fed in the green pastures, or drank water from 
the flowing brooks. 

After a time, the Bible tells us, " Cain brought of 
the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 
And Abel, he also brought of trie firstlings of his 
flock." God had blessed them, and made the fruit 
to grow and ripen, and the sheep to keep well and 
strong. It was right for them to give to God a part 
of what God had helped them to raise. They each 



96 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

built an altar or pile of stones, on which they put 
their gifts for God. This was called offering 
sacrifice, and until Jesus came on the earth the 
people knew no better way ; so God was pleased 
to have them make an offering to thank him for 
his care. 

Cain and Abel each brought the best that he had. 
But the Bible says, "The Lord had respect unto 
Abel and to his offering, but unto Cain and to his 
offering he had not respect." God was pleased with 
Abel's offering, but not with Cain's. God said to 
Cain : " Why are you angry ? If thou doest well 
shalt thou not be accepted ? " If Cain had loved God, 
and tried to please him, God would have accepted his 
offering as well as Abel's. But because Cain felt 
wicked in his heart God was not pleased with him as 
he was with Abel, who tried to do right. God could 
see his heart, and he knew just how Cain felt. 

Do you not see that the trouble began when Cain 
was a little boy and wanted his own way, and scowled 
and did not try to make others happy ? Then, when 
he grew to be a man, the naughty ways which he had 
when a boy grew as he grew, until when he became 
a man God was very much displeased with him. If 
we want to be good Christian men and women, and 
to be looked up to and respected by those about us, 
we must try to be loving, kind, cheerful, and unself- 
ish when we are children. If we do what is right 
when we are children, we shall do right when we are 
grown up. 

MEMORY GEM. 

I pray the prayer of Plato old : 
God make thee beautiful within, 

And let thine eyes the good behold 
In everything save sin. 

• — John G. Whittier, 



CAIN AND ABEL. 97 

OCCUPATION. 

Let the children build two altars, and place some- 
thing on them to represent the two offerings. Take 
pains to have the children clearly understand that 
Abel's offering was accepted because he himself was 
good and pleased God, and that Cain's was rejected 
because his heart was wicked instead of pure and 
holy. 

If more occupation is desired, let one of the 
children plough and plant the ground, and then 
take of the harvest for his sacrifice. The two hands 
can be made into a plough which shall travel up and 
down an imaginary field. One hand with fingers 
spread apart will form the harrow. The children 
can scatter the seed, and so on. Let another child 
tend the flocks, going with them to the pasture and 
to the river. 



STORY. -THE IMMORTAL FOUNTAIN. 

In ancient times two little princesses lived in Scot- 
land, one of whom was very beautiful, the other dark- 
colored and unpleasant-looking. The two sisters were 
not happy together. Marion hated Rose because she 
was handsome, and because every one praised her. 
Marion scowled and was unkind to all about her. 
Rose was sweet and loving, always trying to make 
those about her happy. 

Not far from the castle where the two sisters lived 
was a deep grotto where it was said the queen of the 
fairies lived. Some persons said Rose had fallen 
asleep there one day, and that the queen had dipped 
her into an immortal fountain, from which she had 
risen with the beauty of an angel. Marion often 
asked about this, but Rose always answered that she 
could tell nothing about it. 



98 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

Marion thought much about the fountain, and at 
length she went to the grotto. She sat down on a 
bank of moss and fell asleep. When she awoke it 
was evening, and she found herself in a small hall 
with opal pillows about her, and a beautiful rainbow 
roof. There were brilliant flowers in the beautiful 
vases. The hall was lighted with thousands of fire- 
flies, flitting about like stars. While Marion was 
wondering at all this, a figure of rare loveliness stood 
before her, and sung : — 

" The Fairy Queen 

Hath rarely seen 
Creature of earthly mould 

Within her door, 

On pearly floor, 
Inlaid with shining gold. 

Mortal, all thou seest is fair ; 

Quick thy purposes declare." 

It seemed as if the birds and the insects joined in 
the chorus, and between the pauses the sound of a 
distant waterfall was heard, whose waters fell in 
music. 

Marion answered with a trembling voice, " Will 
it please your majesty to make me as handsome as 
my sister Rose ? " 

"I will do as you ask," answered the queen, "if 
you will do whatever I say. Go home, and for one 
week speak no unkind word to your sister. At 
the end of that time come again to the grotto." 

Marion went home very happy. She did not find 
it easy to be kind and loving to Rose ; but, when she 
felt naughty, she went off by herself, so that she could 
not speak to Rose, and thus say something unkind. 
At the end of the week she again went to the grotto, 
where she found the queen feasting. 

When Marion entered, the diamond sparkles on 



CAIN AND ABEL. 99 

the wings of the fairies faded as they always did in 
the presence of anything not perfectly good, and 
in a few moments the fairies, except the queen, had 
all flown away, singing : — 

" The Fairy Queen 

Hath rarely seen 
Creatures of earthly mould 

Within her door, 

On pearly floor, 
Inlaid with shining gold." 

" Mortal, have you done as I asked ? " 

" I have," answered Marion. 

" Then follow me," continued the queen. 

They walked over beds of beautiful flowers. Birds 
warbled above their heads. Soon they came to a 
hill where stood a band of fairies clothed in green 
gossamer, with their ivory wands crossed. 

The queen waved her wand over them, and they 
flew away. The hill was steep ; and, as they went 
up, the air grew more fragrant. At length they were 
stopped by a band of fairies clothed in blue, with 
their wands crossed. 

"Here," said the queen, "we must stop. You 
can go no farther now. Go home, and for one 
month do to your sister just as you would wish her 
to do to you, were you Rose, and she Marion." 

Marion went home again ; and, though she found 
it very hard, she was so anxious to be beautiful that 
she was sweet and kind to Rose. 

Every one noticed how Marion had changed, and 
Rose said, " I love her dearly." 

At the end of the month she went again to the 
grotto. The fairies in blue lowered their wands and 
flew away. As Marion and the queen walked on, 
the path grew steeper and steeper, and the sound of 
waters falling in music was more clearly heard. They 



IOO THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

came to a troop of fairies in rainbow robes, with 
silver wands tipped with gold. 

" Go home again," said the«queen, "and for three 
months do not think anything wrong. Then you 
shall see the immortal fountain." 

Marion felt very sad, for she knew that she had 
often thought wrong things, even if she had not 
said them. When Marion went to the grotto next, 
the queen did not smile ; and, when they reached 
the rainbow fairies, the silver specks in their wings 
grew dim. Marion burst into tears. She knew that 
wrong thoughts had been in her heart. She went 
home and tried again. This time the rainbow fairies 
flew away as she came to them, singing as they 
went : — 

" Mortal, pass on 

Till the goal is won ; 

For such, I ween, 

Is the will of the queen. 

Pass on ! Pass on ! " 

When they came to the beautiful fountain, Marion 
found purple fairies with golden wands guarding the 
waters. 

Again the queen told her to go home. " For one 
year," she said, "think no wrong thoughts, not so as 
to become beautiful, but because it is right." 

This was the hardest task of all. Three times she 
tried and failed, but the fourth time the purple fairies 
lowered their wands, singing : — 

" Thou hast scaled the mountain, 
Go, bathe in the fountain ; 
Rise fair to the sight 
As an angel of light ; 
Go, bathe in the fountain." 

Marion was about to plunge into the water, when 
the queen said, " Look in the mirror of the water." 



CAIN AND ABEL. IOI 

Marion looked, and saw that she was already as beau- 
tiful as she could desire. 

" The waters of the fountain had been within your 
soul," said the queen. "The only way to become 
beautiful is to be unselfish, loving, and kind. A pure 
heart and right doing are the only immortal fountains 
of beauty." — Adapted from L. Maria Child, 



LESSON XIV. 

NOAH. 

"/ do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a cove- 
nant between me and the earth" — Gen. g : ij. 

As there came to be more people upon the earth, 
some of them did wrong and after a while became 
very wicked. God knew about the wrong things 
they did, and was grieved. He had made men and 
women and children with hearts and minds to know 
what they ought to do, and he wished them to grow 
like him, pure and holy, always doing right. 

When they did wrong, God's Spirit in their hearts 
tried to lead them to do better ; but they would not 
listen to the little voice within, and still did wrong. 
Then God sent Noah to show them a better way. 
Noah and all his family tried to do what would please 
God. They may have made some mistakes, but they 
tried to do right. The wicked people grew no better, 
however, and God could not let them go on doing so 
much that was wrong, and he determined to destroy 
them, sending a great flood of water. 

God wished Noah and his family to be saved ; so 
he told him to build an ark that could sail upon the 
water. Perhaps some of the other people helped 
Noah as he was making the great ark, and very likely 
they made fun of him, and said that he was foolish 
to put so much work into it, as there would not be 
any flood. They had lived a great many years and 
had never had a flood. But God had told Noah he 
should send the flood, and Noah believed, and went 



NOAH. IO3 

on building the ark. It took a great while to make 
so large a vessel, and Noah had plenty of time to 
urge the people to do right or to save themselves by 
going with him into the ark. But the wicked people 
did not believe any harm would come to them, and 
kept on doing wrong. 

God told Noah to take into the ark two of every 
kind of animal, of beast, of fowl, and of bird, also 
animals for food for himself and his family ; and 
Noah did as God said. Then he and his wife and his 
three sons and their wives went into the ark and 
closed the doors, and after seven days it began to 
rain. Do you not think the wicked people wished 
they had listened to Noah and did as he said ? As 
the rain kept on, how sorry they were for their wrong- 
doing ! Instead of being a rain that lasted two or 
three days, as we sometimes have, it rained all the 
time for forty days and nights. It rained longer than 
from Thanksgiving until Christmas. The rivers over- 
flowed and covered the meadows ; the water seemed 
to come from everywhere ; the ground began to sink. 
The waters covered the tops of the trees. By and 
by they covered the hills. Finally, even the highest 
mountains were covered with water, and the animals 
and the people in the ark were the only living beings 
on the earth, except the fishes and sea-animals. The 
tents the people lived in, the trees, the flowers, and 
the grass were all covered by water. 

Noah and his family and all the animals in the ark 
were safe, and after a time it stopped raining. But 
still they must remain in the ark, because the ground 
was covered with water. At length, however, God 
spoke to Noah, saying, " Go forth of the ark, thou, 
and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy son's wives with 
thee." God also told him to bring out the animals. 

Think of all those animals, — birds, doves, horses, 
dogs, tigers, lions, sheep, butterflies, all the different 



104 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

kinds coming from the ark down the side of the 
mountain, for the ark rested on the top of Mount 
Ararat. They must have been glad to be free once 
more, and to be able to walk or fly about the earth. 

Noah and his family were so grateful that the first 
thing they did was to thank God for his great care 
over them. God blessed Noah and his sons, and he 
said that he would never again let the waters cover 
the earth, or destroy all the people and animals upon 
the earth. 

God sent the rainbow to show the people that he 
would remember his promise, and he said : " I do set 
my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a 
covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come 
to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the 
bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember 
my covenant, which is between me and you and every 
living creature of all flesh ; and the waters shall no 
more become a flood to destroy all flesh." The cove- 
nant is the promise between God and all the people 
on the earth that he will never send another flood to 
destroy the world. So whenever you see the rain- 
bow in the sky, you know it is the sign of God's 
promise to us. By this rainbow we know that he 
will keep his promise. What a beautiful sign to give 
us, the lovely bow or arch, with its beautiful colors, 
— red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet ! God 
has always kept his promise. He has made a great 
many promises in the Bible and never broken one of 
them. 

MEMORY GEM. 

Saw the rainbow in the heaven, 
In the eastern sky the rainbow, 
Whispered, " What is that, Nokomis ? " 
And the good Nokomis answered, 
" 'T is the heaven of flowers you see there ; 



NOAH. I05 

All the wild-flowers of the forest, 
All the lilies of the prairie, 
When on earth they fade and perish, 
Blossom in that heaven above us." 

— Henry W. Longfellow. 

OCCUPATION, 

A Noah's ark and animals, or even paper animals, 
can be used to illustrate this lesson. If the teacher 
desires, the raven and the dove can be sent out after 
the rain has ceased. The animals march down the 
hill in procession. Too much time and stress should 
not be laid upon this part of the occupation, however, 
to the exclusion of the rainbow and promise. 

If crayons with square edges of the six standard 
colors are fastened together in the right order, a 
beautiful rainbow can be made upon the blackboard 
with one stroke of the hand. 

STORY. — THE RAINBOW PILGRIMAGE. 

One summer afternoon I was standing at an east- 
ern window, looking at a beautiful rainbow that, 
bending from the sky, seemed to be losing itself in 
a thick, swampy wood about a quarter of a mile 
away. We had just had a thunder-storm ; but now 
the dark heavens had cleared up, the rose-bushes 
by the window were dashing rain-drops against 
the panes, the robins were singing merrily from the 
cherry-trees, and all was brighter and pleasanter 
than ever. There was no one in the room with me 
but my brother Rufus, who had been sick and was 
sitting in an easy-chair, looking out with me at the 
rainbow. 

" See, brother," said I, " it drops right down among 
the cedars, where we go in the spring to find winter- 
greens ! " 



Io6 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

"Why don't you go to the end of the rainbow, 
Gracie," said my brother, not supposing that I should 
think of doing such a thing, " and get the purses filled 
with the money, and the great pots of gold and silver ? " 

I at once darted out of the door and started toward 
the wood. My brother called after me as loudly as 
he could, but I did not hear him and he could not 
come after me. I cared nothing for the wet grass 
that soiled my clean dress and wet my feet as I ran. 
I felt sure I knew just where that rainbow ended, 
and I was thinking what fine presents I would give 
my friends out of my riches. 

Almost before I knew it I had reached the cedar 
grove, and the end of the rainbow was not there. 
But I saw it shining down among the trees a little 
farther on ; so on and on I struggled, through the 
thick bushes and over logs, till I came within the 
sound of the stream which ran through the swamp. 
I crossed the stream on a fallen tree, and still ran 
on, although I was tired and it seemed as if I could 
go no farther. I had forgotten to keep watch of the 
rainbow ; and, when I looked for it again, it was 
nowhere in sight. It had quite faded away. When 
I saw that it was indeed gone, I burst into tears ; for 
I had lost all my treasures, and had nothing to show 
for my pilgrimage but muddy feet and a wet and 
torn frock. So I set out for home. I was wet, 
cold, scared, and altogether very miserable. I had 
lost my way, and wandered about until at last my 
older brother found me and carried me home. I had 
been gone nearly three hours and had wandered a 
number of miles. 

When I went into the room where my brother 
Rufus sat, he said, " Why, my poor little sister ! I 
did not mean to send you off on such a wild-goose 
chase to the end of the rainbow. I thought you 
would know I was only quizzing you." 



NOAH. I07 

Then my eldest brother took me on his knee, and 
told me what the rainbow really was ; that it was 
painted air, and did not rest on the earth ; so nobody 
could ever find the end ; and that God had set it in 
the cloud to remind him and us of his promise never 
again to drown the world with a flood. 

" O, I think < God's promise ' would be a beautiful 
name for the rainbow," I said. 

" Yes," replied my mother, " but it tells us some- 
thing more than that he will not send great floods 
upon the earth ; it tell us of his beautiful love always 
bending over us from the skies. And I trust that 
when my little girl sets forth on a pilgrimage to find 
God's love, she will be led by the rainbow of his 
promise through all the dark places of this world to 
treasures laid up in heaven, better, far better, than 
silver or gold." — Grace Greenwood. 

MYTH. -IRIS'S BRIDGE. 

In the sky, where the amber tints are seen on the 
clouds, Iris was born. She loved her home and all 
the beautiful things around her. Perhaps she sailed 
in the moon's silver boat and knew why the stars 
kept twinkling. Perhaps she feasted on sunshine 
and dew, and slept on the soft white clouds. 

More than anything in her sky home, Iris loved 
her grandfather, the stern old ocean. When he was 
merry, and drove his white horses over the water, 
she was happy. When he was troubled, and the sky 
grew dark and sad, she quietly slipped her hand into 
his. Instantly he smiled, and became gentle again. 
He longed always to keep her with him, but the sun 
said : " No, Iris belongs to both ocean and sky. Let 
her be the messenger between heaven and earth." 

They placed golden wings upon her shoulders, and 
made her a bridge of beautiful colors. One end of 



108 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORV. 

the bridge they rested in the sky, but the other Iris 
fastened to the earth. This was the way Iris's path 
was made : the earth gave the tints of the fairest 
flowers, the sea brought great ribbons of silvery mist, 
the wind was the shuttle, the sky was the loom, 
and the sun himself was the weaver. 

It is no wonder that the most beautiful thing in 
the world is Iris's bridge, the rainbow. 



LESSON XV. 
EASTER, 

" I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." — Ps. ij : ij. 

We have talked about the world when it was 
new, about the trees as they grew, and about the 
flowers and different plants. Do you not think it 
must have been something like another new world 
when Noah came out of the ark ? The water had 
destroyed everything. Trees, plants, and grass were 
all gone. Then it began to grow green again. How 
beautiful it must have looked to Noah after being 
shut up in the ark so many, many days ! If we had 
never seen anything green, how delighted we should 
be with even a little patch of grass ! How we should 
watch it each day, and how pleased we should be 
over every new spear of grass that started ! If we 
could get so much pleasure from just a little grass, 
what would it be like to see the trees grow green, the 
vines put out leaves, and all the earth put on a 
beautiful green dress ? 

Let us think of the earth as it would look if there 
were no plants and grass growing. Suppose the 
world all looked like the streets in front of your 
houses, — dirt, dirt everywhere, and no grass. Would 
the earth be as pretty if the trees had no leaves ? 
Think of the oak-tree, with its gnarled branches all 
bare and the wind blowing through them ; think of leaf- 
less birch and elm trees, with their long, slender 
branches swaying in the wind and showing bare 

109 



IIO THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

against the sky. They are pretty even that way, 
the branches are so graceful ; but how glad we are 
to see the leaves on them ! Suppose we take away 
all the flowers, goldenrod and asters, daisies and but- 
tercups, the pretty vines and bushes ; would the earth 
be as beautiful to you ? Should you like to live in 
such a place all the time ? Should you like to see the 
world bare the year round ? 

Suppose you lived where all was brown and bare ; 
and then some day you should find little buds on the 
trees, and these should grow and grow each day, and 
after a little time tiny green shoots should begin to 
spring up out of the ground here and there, what 
would you think ? I know you would be delighted, 
and would watch the plants and trees each day. The 
buds would grow larger and larger until they burst 
out, some into leaves, some into flowers, until, after 
a little, all the earth would become beautiful. 

If we had never seen this happen, should we not 
think it very wonderful for the brown, dead-looking 
earth suddenly to grow green and beautiful and cov- 
ered with lovely flowers, and the trees to put forth 
green leaves on every branch and twig? Yet this 
happens every year. Through winter the trees are 
bare, the grass and plants look dead ; they are brown 
and lifeless. All winter they remain so ; but, when 
the warm weather comes, then the buds open, and 
the leaves burst forth. One by one the flowers open 
to the sun ; little by little the whole earth is clothed 
in green, and looks like a different place. All this 
wonderful change has been made for us. Is it any 
less wonderful because God brings to new life the 
trees and plants year after year, than if he did it only 
once ? Does it not show greater power to be able to 
do this every year ? How beautiful a lesson for us 
that God does not tire of making the earth blossom 
and grow beautiful each spring ! 



EASTER. 1 1 1 

Let us watch the trees and plants this spring as 
they bud and blossom for us. Let us notice the beau- 
tiful shapes and colors, the difference between the 
various kinds of buds and leaves ; let us never forget 
that the same God who made the earth in the begin- 
ning makes it grow green and beautiful each spring. 

I want to tell you one more wonderful thing about 
God. He can make just as great a change in us as 
he does on the earth when the trees grow green and 
the plants blossom and all becomes beautiful. Our 
hearts are like the bare earth in winter-time, but by 
and by God will take us to live with him, and our 
hearts will become beautiful as does the earth in the 
springtime. God says that we cannot know what we 
shall be like then, for he will make us like himself. 
We have never seen God, but we know that he is 
perfectly good and loving, that he is holy and pure ; 
and he has promised that we shall be like him. 

The little seeds of love are in our hearts now, and 
if we water them, that is, if we try to please God, by 
and by they will blossom into beautiful flowers, just 
as the plants do in the spring on the earth. God 
will make them more beautiful than any flowers we 
ever saw. This is why we are so glad at Easter, 
because God will some day make us like himself, 
pure and holy, and beautiful as the Easter lilies we 
all love so much, 

MEMORY GEM, 

Lo ! the winter is past ; 
The flowers appear again on the earth ; 
The time of the singing of the birds is come, 
And their voices are heard in all our land. 
The trees put forth their leaves, 
And the buds break into blossom. 
Consider the lilies how they grow, ^ 
And the roses how they bloom. 



112 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

OCCUPATION. 

There is a little toy called Japanese water-lilies 
that will make an excellent illustration for this lesson. 
The flowers come in a little wooden box, and look 
like tiny wooden sticks an inch or an inch and a half 
long. When placed in water, they expand and look 
like leaves and flowers. They are colored and very 
pretty, and interest the children greatly. Eight or 
ten different kinds are to be found in a box, and the 
price is but five cents. 

After children have begun to see the wonder and 
beauty of the new life God gives to nature, they will 
be better able, when older, to grasp and accept the 
stupendous truth of the resurrection. 



STORY. — THE WONDERFUL CHANGE. 

It is a beautiful warm day in June. Most of the 
birds that love the pond and the bushes that grow 
near it have selected their homes, and have either 
built their nests or are just beginning them. If one 
watches closely, the bright flash of color can be seen 
as the red-winged blackbird darts down to its nest. 
He has given his early morning call of " Kronk-a-ree," 
and has now settled to work to find food for his mate 
who is busy at the nest. The white swamp honey- 
suckle has begun to open its buds, making all the air 
fragrant with its sweet odor. Along the edges of 
the pond are to be seen the green spires of the blue 
flag with its large blue-purple flowers, variegated with 
yellow or white. Above these hovers the bee, which 
soon alights upon the curved sepal, and thrusts its 
head inside the flower to find the hidden nectar. See 
how dusty he is as he flies away to another flower. 
This is what the blossom wished. It wanted him to 
carry its pollen to another blossom. 



EASTER. 113 

Darting about upon the water are the water-spiders, 
while above its surface the bright blue dragon-fly 
flutters and sails along as gracefully as any bird. 
Down in the mud at the bottom of the pond crawls 
a clumsy black bug. He knows nothing of all the 
beautiful things above him. He can simply crawl 
about, catching and eating the little flies and mosqui- 
toes that are so unfortunate as to get within his 
reach. He is not very attractive, but he is doing the 
best he can and knows nothing of a better life. 

After a time the black bug has a strange feeling 
come over him. He no longer cares for the flies and 
mosquitoes. He does not feel hungry. He cannot 
tell what is the matter with him, but he feels that he 
must get away from the mud and slime of the bottom 
of the pond, and he crawls up one of the slippery 
stems of the blue flag near him. It is not easy for 
him to do this, but at last he reaches the top and 
creeps out of the water, still clinging to the stout 
stem of the blue flag. Why does he not skip about 
as do the other bugs or the spiders upon the surface 
of the water ? Poor thing, he cannot. He is not used 
to being out of the water, and the warm sun makes 
his skin dry and hard and too tight for him. He feels 
so weak and tired that he knows not what to do ; 
still, he clings to the green stalk of the blue flag. 
Soon he begins to twist and turn ; and, as he does so, 
a part of his skin is loosened and slips over his eyes 
so that he can see nothing. Finally it is pushed entirely 
off, and he finds that he has a new face under the old 
one and that he can see with new eyes ; in fact, they 
are much finer than were the old ones. 

As he looks about, the beautiful blossoms of the 
blue flag by his side seem a deeper, richer shade of 
blue, and the leaves more graceful ; he discovers the 
white blossoms of the honeysuckle and for the first 
time notices its fragrance. He lifts his head to see 



114 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

more of this wonderful new world, and, as he does 
so, he draws himself out of his old skin and discov- 
ers that he has two pairs of wings of thinnest gauze 
and beautiful color. At first they are weak, but after 
a little he finds that they are wondrously strong in 
spite of their delicate appearance. 

At last the clumsy black bug has crawled entirely 
out of its old skin, and finds himself a slender blue 
dragon-fly like the ones we have seen skimming over 
the pond so gayly. When he has rested a while, he, 
too, lifts his wings and darts here and there, skim- 
ming about for the mere pleasure of the motion. He 
flies to the sweet blossoms of the swamp honeysuckle, 
and thinks how wonderful it is that all these beauties 
were here before and he knew nothing about them. 
He dips down to the blue flag, and looks at the stem 
up which he had crawled with so much difficulty a 
short time before. He sees the red-winged blackbird 
as she darts to her nest, and soon learns to know the 
songs of the various birds. Life seems a wonderful, 
a glorious, thing to the bright dragon-fly, and he is 
thankful every moment for the change that has come 
to him. There are other black bugs down at the 
bottom of the pond, which know nothing about the life 
he leads ; but some day they will be changed as he 
was, and begin a new and beautiful life. 



LESSON XVI. 
ABRAHAM. 

" The father of a multitude of nations have I made thee" — Gen. ij : 5. 

To-day we are to talk about another one of God's 
people whom he had promised to bless greatly. His 
name was Abraham. He and his wife Sarah lived 
in tents in the country of Canaan, and had many ser- 
vants and cattle and sheep. Tne servants cared for 
the cattle ; they fed and watered them ; when it was 
the right time of year, they sheared the sheep ; the 
women made cloth of the wool, which was after- 
ward made into garments for the men and women. 

Do you suppose that God promised to bless Abra- 
ham because he was rich ? No, it was because 
Abraham loved God and tried to do what would 
please God. The people about him did not love 
God, and God could not be pleased with them when 
they did not do what was right. 

God promised Abraham that he would give him 
and his children and their children all the land about 
him. He promised that all the land he could see 
to the west of him, to the east of him, to the north 
and to the south of him, should sometime belong to 
his children. God also promised to bless him and his 
children and their children greatly. 

Now Abraham and Sarah had no children, and 
they wished very much for a little son. They would 
have been glad to give some of their servants and 
some of their cattle and sheep, if only they could 
have a child of their own. 

"5 



Il6 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

One day, when Abraham was sitting in the tent 
door, while it was very warm in the sun, he looked 
up and saw three men, " and when he saw them, he 
ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed him- 
self to the earth, and said, My lord, if now I have 
found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, 
from thy servant : let now a little water be fetched, 
and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the 
tree : and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort 
ye your heart ; after that ye shall pass on : forasmuch 
as ye are come to your servant." 

This was the way in which people received 
strangers and welcomed them to their homes in the 
East. It seems a very friendly and pretty way. 
Abraham wished to do everything that he could 
for them. After they had eaten of the food he 
brought them, which was the best he had, the three 
men told Abraham that he and Sarah should surely 
have a little son. 

How wonderful a promise this was ! Abraham 
and Sarah were old people ; they had lived a long 
time, and, though they had wanted to have a little 
child, they thought they had grown too old. Now 
God promised to give them a son. God always keeps 
his promise, and he kept this one. Abraham and 
Sarah did have a son, and they called his name Isaac. 
They loved him very much. God had told Abraham 
that his children's children should become a great 
nation, that there should be a great many of them, 
and that he would do wonderful things for them ; 
they should be his people. 

Abraham tried to teach Isaac to do what was 
right, to please God. He knew that, if Isaac did 
wrong, probably Isaac's children would also do 
wrong. If Isaac pleased God in all his ways, his 
children would be more likely to please God. 

Did you ever think that when you do wrong, not 



ABRAHAM. 117 

only do you displease God, but very likely you lead 
some one else to do wrong also ? Some little boy or 
girl sees you do the wrong thing, and he does the 
same naughty thing. Not only have you done some- 
thing wrong, but you have made some one else 
naughty also. 

It is just as true that when you try to do right 
you help others to be better. If one child in school 
pays attention and does not whisper, the next boy 
will be less likely to whisper, and that will help 
another child, so that in time all the children in the 
room are better. 

You and I are going to try to see how many times 
we can do right, and so lead some one else to do 
what is right. We are going to be careful not to set 
any one else a bad example. 

MEMORY GEM. 

I shot an arrow into the air, 
It fell to earth, I knew not where ; 
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight 
Could not follow it in its flight. 

I breathed a song into the air, 
It fell to earth, I knew not where ; 
For who has sight so keen and strong 
That it can follow the flight of song ? 

Long, long afterward, in an oak 
I found the arrow, still unbroke ; 
And the song, from beginning to end, 
I found again in the heart of a friend. 

— Henry W. Longfellow. 

OCCUPATION. 

Make cardboard tents for Abraham and his ser 
vants to live in. Have something to represent 



Il8 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

Abraham sitting in the tent doorway when the three 
men come in sight. Abraham should be made to go 
and meet them, and servants should then bring 
water to wash the feet (explain this custom), and also 
food for their refreshment. 

STORY. — RUPERT'S DREAM. 

"Look carefully," said nurse, turning down the 
corner of the flannel blanket. " Don't touch her, 
dears, but just look." 

Mary and Rupert stood on tiptoe and peeped into 
the tiny red face. They were frightened at first, the 
baby was so very small. 

" Look at her little hands," whispered Mary. 
" Aren't they lovely ? O, I do wish I could give her 
a hug ! " 

" Not yet," said nurse. " She is too tender to be 
hugged. But mamma says you can give her some- 
thing. She wants to tell you about it. You may 
both go very quietly to mamma, while she talks with 
you." 

Mary and Rupert stole quietly to the side of their 
mother, who said : " I cannot talk much, dears, but 
I want to ask you to help me about baby. Mamma 
is very anxious that each of her three dear children 
shall grow up to be a noble, loving, unselfish man or 
woman. Mamma wants to ask Mary and Rupert to 
help her teach the dear little baby sister to become 
sweet and kind and gentle. You can do quite as 
much to make her good as mamma can. Would you 
like to try ? " 

" Yes, mamma ; but how can we ? " asked Rupert. 

" By always doing what is right yourselves. If 
baby sees you trying to help mamma, she will try ; 
if she sees you unselfishly giving up to others and 
making others happy, she will grow unselfish ; but, 



ABRAHAM. H9 

if she sees you cross and unkind, she will quickly 
grow unkind too." 

" I will teach her what is right, mamma. I will be 
good," said Rupert. 

Then nurse came and led the children back to 
their play, that they might not make mamma tired. 
Mary and Rupert talked it over, and decided that 
they would try very hard. 

The baby grew very slowly, it seemed to the chil- 
dren. They did not see how they could ever teach 
her to be good, for she did not notice anything they 
did. She was only a baby. After a time they 
almost forgot about the little talk mamma had with 
them. Two years seems a long time to children. 

One day when Baby Nell was two years old, Ru- 
pert ran into the house from his play ; and, when 
mamma asked him to please hang up his things, he 
made up a cross face. He wanted to play with his 
sister Mary's doll, and his mother said, " No, I am 
afraid you will break it." Then Rupert stamped his 
little foot, and said, " I won't." Mamma was obliged 
to put him in the closet ; but when she came back 
Baby Nell had Mary's doll, and when mamma asked 
her to lay it upon the table, Baby Nell stamped her 
tiny foot, and said, " I won't," just as near as she 
could like what Rupert had said. 

That night, when mamma was putting Rupert to 
bed, she told him how baby had been naughty, and 
said just the same thing that he had said. She re- 
minded him of the time when Nell was a tiny little 
baby, and he had promised to help her teach baby to 
do right. 

"Would you like to have your little sister grow 
up to be cross, to scold and fret and pout, to stamp 
her foot and say naughty things ? Think how bad 
it makes mamma feel." 

Rupert was really sorry, and before he fell asleep 



120 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

he made up his mind that he would try never to do 
anything that mamma would not like to. see Baby 
Nell doing. 

All at once Rupert thought he was his mother, and 
that Baby Nell was as old as he had been before he 
became mamma. He looked at Baby Nell, and her 
little face was as dirty as could be. Of course he 
would not like to have his little girl with so dirty a 
face, for he was mamma ; and so he tried to wash it 
clean. Baby Nell stamped her foot, and screamed 
and cried, and he did not know what to do. 

Then he thought she got Mary's new book, and 
began to mark on it with a pencil, and, when he tried 
to take it away from her, she threw it on the floor 
and broke the cover off. Next, she seemed to be 
sitting at the table and holding her bread with both 
hands, and picking up her meat with her fingers in- 
stead of her fork. He tried to tell her pleasantly 
that she ought not to eat in that way, but she only 
looked cross, and then made up a face. " O, O, 
dear ! what shall I do ? " 

" What is the matter, my little boy ? " asked his 
mother. 

" O mamma, I had such a horrid dream ! " but 
almost before he had said the words he was asleep 
again and dreaming. This time he was himself, little 
Rupert, and he was sitting at the table and eating 
his bread so nicely that his mamma smiled at him. 
He thought he looked at Baby Nell, and she, too, 
was holding her bread in one hand, and eating like a 
little lady. Then it seemed as if Nell wanted his 
sister Mary's paint-box, and he was afraid that she 
was going to be naughty about it ; so he ran and 
got his box of colored pencils and a paper, and said, 
" See, Nell, what Rupert is going to do." He 
began to draw a picture of a little girl with a face 
so sunny and bright-looking that Baby Nell laughed 



ABRAHAM. 121 

right out, and Rupert was surprised to find that 
the face he had drawn in his dream looked just 
like his baby sister's. 

He woke up thinking about it. As he thought of 
the first dream, he felt like crying. It had been so 
bad. He had not known what to do, and was having 
so hard a time. But, when he thought of the 
second dream, he wondered whether his mamma felt 
as happy when the children did right as he did in his 
second dream. Then he wondered whether she felt 
as much like crying when they were naughty as he 
did in his first dream. Rupert made up his mind 
that the second dream should come true. He de- 
cided that he would help his mother teach Baby Nell 
what was right, that he would always do right him- 
self. It was hard work, but mamma's happy face 
gave him so much pleasure that he kept on trying, 
until finally one night she said to him, " I am sure 
Rupert is really trying to set Nell a good example." 

O, how happy a little boy was Rupert that night ! 



LESSON XVII. 
ISAAC 

" Her children rise up, and call her blessed.'''' — Prov. ji : 28. 

Do you remember that after God made Adam he 
said, "It is not good that the man should be alone ; 
I will make him an helpmeet for him "■ ? God made 
a woman to be Adam's wife, to help him and bless 
him in order that together they might make a happy 
home. Ever since then God has been pleased when 
new homes have been begun, and has greatly blessed 
husbands and wives who love each other and try to 
do what is right. 

Abraham had left his friends and gone to a new 
country as God had told him. His son Isaac grew 
to be a man, and Abraham did not wish him to 
marry any of the women who lived near, for they 
did not know and love God. If we are to be God's 
children and to do what will please him, it is best for 
us to be with people who are also trying to do what 
he wishes. So Abraham desired his son Isaac to 
have some one who knew and loved God for his dear- 
est friend, for his wife. He, therefore, called one of 
his servants, whom he greatly trusted, and told him 
to go to the country where they used to live to find 
a wife for Isaac, one who should really be a blessing 
and help to him. Then the servant took ten of 
Abraham's camels, and went toward the country 
where Abraham had once lived. He wished to do 
the best he could to find the woman who would 

122 




REBECCA AT THE WELL. 

From a painting by Frederick Goodall. 



ISAAC. 123 

make the very best wife for Isaac ; so he asked 
God to help him. In those days God often helped 
his people in a different way from what he does 
now. He sometimes told them by dreams what he 
wished them to do, sometimes in other ways. Peo- 
ple then did not have the Bible to tell them what 
is right. 

When Abraham's servant reached the country, he 
prayed to God and asked him to show him which 
woman he wished to be Isaac's wife. It was evening 
and the women went to the well at that time of day 
to draw water, for they had no water in their houses. 
The servant prayed God to send the right woman 
and to show him when she came. He prayed that 
she might reply to him, when he asked her for a 
drink of water, " Drink, and I will give thy camels 
drink also." In this way he would know that he had 
found the right one. God did as he asked. Before 
the servant had finished praying a woman called 
Rebekah came with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 

The servant ran to meet her, and said, " Give me 
to drink, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher," 
and she said, " Drink, my lord." Then she gave his 
camels water also. Thus the servant knew that God 
had heard and answered his prayer. 

He gave Rebekah costly presents, and went home 
with her, and was kindly received by her brother 
Laban. He told of his master Abraham and his son 
Isaac, and how Abraham wished his son to have a 
wife from among the people where he used to live. 
Then Laban said that it should be as God wished, 
and told the servant that Rebekah might go with 
him. Then the servant gave her more beautiful 
jewels, and he also gave precious things to her 
mother and to Laban. They asked Rebekah whether 
she would go with the servant and be Isaac's wife, 
and she said, " I will go." So she went with the 



124 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

servant back to Abraham's home. As they came 
near, Isaac saw them coming, and hastened to meet 
them. Then Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, and 
she got down from the camel and asked the servant 
who the man was. He told her that it was his 
master. 

The Bible does not tell us much more about Isaac 
and Rebekah at that time, except that Isaac took her 
to his mother's tent, and that she became his wife 
and he loved her. But do you know how much those 
few words mean ? Isaac and Rebekah were to live 
together all the rest of their lives ; and, if they had 
not loved each other, they would have been very 
unhappy. When we really love some one, we wish 
to do just what will please that person. So Rebekah 
and Isaac tried to make each other happy. God 
means that the family shall all love one another, that 
father shall love mother and mother love father, 
that children shall love their parents and the parents 
love the children. This makes a happy family, and 
helps to carry out God's great plan. 

MEMORY GEM, 

This is the mother so busy at home, 

Who loves her dear children, whatever may come. 

This is the father, so brave and strong, 
Who works for his family all the day long. 

This is the brother, who'll soon be a man ; 
He helps his good mother as much as he can. 

This is the sister, so gentle and mild, 
Who plays that the dolly is her little child. 

This is the baby, all dimpled and sweet, 

How soft his wee hands and his chubby, pink feet ! 



ISAAC. 125 



Father, and mother, and children so dear, 
Together you see them, one family here. 



OCCUPATION, 

Build the well with blocks, and bring Abraham's 
servant on his camel from one direction, while 
Rebekah comes from the other with her water- 
pitcher on her shoulder. Then the servant may 
accompany her to her brother's tent, and finally they 
may both go back to Abraham's home where they 
are met by Isaac. 

STORY. -THE CHILDREN'S HOUR. 

Between the dark and the daylight, 

When the night is beginning to lower, 

Comes a pause in the day's occupations, 
That is known as the Children's Hour. 

I hear in the chamber above me 

The patter of little feet, 
The sound of a door that is opened, 

And voices soft and sweet. 

From my study I see in the lamplight, 

Descending the broad hall stair, 
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra, 

And Edith with golden hair. 

A whisper, and then a silence : 

Yet I know by their merry eyes 
They are plotting and planning together 

To take me by surprise. 

A sudden rush from the stairway, 
A sudden raid from the hall ! 



126 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

By three doors left unguarded 
They enter my castle wall ! 

They climb up into my turret 

O'er the arms and back of my chair; 

If I try to escape, they surround me ; 
They seem to be everywhere. 

They almost devour me with kisses, 

Their arms about me entwine, 
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen 

In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine ! 

Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti, 
Because you have scaled the wall, 

Such an old mustache as I am 
Is not a match for you all ? 

I have you fast in my fortress, 

And will not let you depart, 
But put you down into the dungeon 

In the round-tower of my heart. 

And there will I keep you forever, 

Yes, forever and a day, 
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin, 

And moulder in dust away ! 

— He my W. Longfellow. 



LESSON XVIII. 
JACOB, 

" Of all that thou shall give me I will surely give the tenth unto 
thee''' — Gen. 28 : 22. 

In our last lesson we learned how Abraham sent 
his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac from 
among the people who knew and served God. The 
people among whom Isaac lived still worshipped idols, 
and when Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, be- 
came a man, he went to his mother's old home, that 
he might find a wife among God's people. 

There was no train for him to take, for people did 
not know how to make or run an engine. He 
did not go in a carriage, even ; he walked. There 
was no hotel for Jacob to stay at over night, and 
when the sun had set, and it began to grow dark, he 
took a stone and put it under his head for a pillow, 
and lay down to sleep. 

The people in that country used to believe that 
when they dreamed the dream meant something, 
and that whatever they saw in the dream would come 
true. They did not have the Bible to teach them 
about God and what was right, as we have, and it 
may be that God sometimes sent dreams in order to 
teach some truth. 

While Jacob lay asleep on the hard ground, with 
nothing but a stone upon which to rest his head, he 
dreamed, " and behold a ladder set up on the earth, 
and the top of it reached to heaven : and behold the 
angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, 
behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the 

127 



128 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

Lord, the God of Abraham thy father and the God 
of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I 
give it, and to thy seed ; and thy seed shall be as the 
dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to 
the west, and to the east, and to the north, and 
to the south : and in thee and in thy seed shall all 
the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I 
am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou 
goest, and will bring thee again into this land ; for I 
will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have 
spoken to thee of." 

Could God have sent him a more beautiful dream 
than the broad shaft of a light streaming down from 
heaven to earth, looking like a ladder, and the won- 
derful white-robed angels going up and down, as if to 
show him that heaven was not far from earth ? 
Above it stood the Lord, and talked with Jacob. 
He told him that he would go with him, and keep 
him from all danger ; he promised to bring him 
safely back, and to give him and his children and 
their children all the land round about him ; and, 
more than all this, God promised to bless him. 

When Jacob awoke, he said, " Surely the Lord is 
in this place, and I knew it not." Then Jacob knew 
that it was a holy place, and he said, " This is none 
other but the house of God, and this is the gate of 
heaven." There was no church there, but Jacob 
called it the house of God and the gate of heaven. 
Wherever God is, that place becomes his house. 
When boys and girls, or men and women, love God 
so much that he comes and lives with them, then 
their hearts become his house. 

"Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the 
stone that he had put under his head, and set it up 
for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it." And 
Jacob said, " If God will be with me, and will keep 
me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to 



JACOB. 129 

eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again 
to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord 
be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for 
a pillar, shall be God's house : and of all that thou 
shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto 
thee." 

Jacob had left his home, and was going to a 
distant country ; he was going all alone where he had 
never been before. He did not know what might hap- 
pen to him, or whether he would ever reach his home, 
and see his dear father and mother again. But when 
God sent him this beautiful vision, and promised to 
go with him all the way and to bless him so greatly, 
he felt that he could not do enough to show God 
how thankful he was. He would always try to do 
what God wished, and he would try to use whatever 
God gave him, money or sheep and cattle, to please 
God, and to help those who had less than he. 

If Jacob felt that he owed God so much, how 
much do you think boys and girls now ought to do 
for the heavenly Father who has given them such 
beautiful homes, loving fathers and mothers to care 
for them, so many, many good things that Jacob did 
not even know about, and, more than all, the Bible 
and the dear Christ to help them to do what is 
right ? 

MEMORY GEM. 

Now is the time to begin to do right ; 
To-day, whether skies be dark or bright, 
Make others happy by deeds of love, 
Looking up always for help from above. 

OCCUPATION. 

Let the occupation for this lesson be very simple, 
and strive to make the word-picture of the ladder, 



I3O THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

with its heavenly forms and the God of all standing 
above, as vivid and impressive as possible. Make 
Isaac's tent at one side of the table, and let Jacob 
bid his father and mother and brother good-by and 
start alone. Let one of the children arrange the 
stone upon which he rests his head to sleep, and 
leave the illustration here, to carry on the story of 
the vision. 

STORY. — IN HEAVEN. 

Beyond the stars, across the blue, 
The angel babies, peeping through, 
Look down from heaven and smile on you, 
And wish that you were up there, too. 

They like to live away up high ; 
They like to float across the sky ; 
They 're always glad, and that is why 
They think it is n't sad to die. 

But free as birds upon the wing, 
And fair as flowers that ope in spring, 
They carol round their Saviour King ; 
His glory lights them while they sing. 

You 'd almost be afraid to go ? 
You 've never been up there, I know ; 
I 'd rather have you wait, and grow 
To be a man on earth below. 

— From "Twilight Stories" by Elizabeth E. Foulke. 

By permission of Silver, Burdett, & Company, publishers. 

STORY. — STAR DOLLARS. 

Once upon a time there was a little girl whose 
father and mother were dead, and she became so 
poor that she had no roof to shelter herself under, 



JACOB. 131 

and no bed to sleep in ; and at last she had nothing 
left but the clothes on her back, and a loaf of bread 
in her hand, which a compassionate person had given 
to her. 

But she was a good and pious little girl ; and, when 
she found herself forsaken by all the world, she went 
out into the fields, trusting God. 

Soon she met a poor man, who said to her, " Give 
me something to eat, for I am so hungry ! " She 
handed him the whole loaf, and with a " God bless 
you ! " walked on further. 

Next she met a little girl crying bitterly, who said 
to her, " Pray give me something to cover my head 
with, for it is so cold." She took off her bonnet and 
gave it away. 

In a little while she met another child who had no 
cloak, and to her she gave her own frock. 

By that time it was growing dark, and our little 
girl entered a forest ; presently she met a fourth 
maiden, who begged something, and to her she gave 
her petticoat. "For," thought our heroine, "it is 
growing dark, and nobody will see me ; I can give 
away this." 

Now she had scarcely anything left to cover her- 
self. But just then some of the stars fell down in 
silver dollars, and among them she found a petticoat 
of the finest linen. In that she collected the star- 
money, which made her rich all the rest of her life. 
— Grimm s " Household Tales." 



LESSON XIX. 
JOSEPH THE BOY, 

" Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell 
together in unity." — Ps. ijj : i. 

All through the Bible we read much of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, because they were the first ones to 
be called God's people. Jacob had twelve sons, one 
of whom I want to tell you about. His name was 
Joseph, and he was the next to the youngest. He and 
Benjamin, the youngest, were greatly loved by their 
father because they were the youngest, because when 
he became an old man they were little boys, while 
the other sons were grown up. I think there is also 
another reason why Joseph's father loved him more 
than his older sons. Joseph was a better son ; he 
was more loving and unselfish and kind. Jacob gave 
Joseph a beautiful coat, different from any that his 
brothers had ; and they did not think that this was 
right. 

One night not long after this, Joseph dreamed a 
most strange dream. He thought that he was in the 
field with his brothers, and that they were gathering 
the grain into sheaves ; that is, they were tying the 
grain into bundles, that they might carry it home 
more easily. Joseph dreamed that his sheaf of grain 
stood upright, and that the other sheaves, the ones 
that his brothers had bound, all bowed down to his 
sheaf, as if they wished to honor him. Joseph told 
his dream to his brothers, and they were angry with 
him ; for they thought it meant that they were to be 

132 



JOSEPH THE BOY. 1 33 

his servants. Not long after this, Joseph dreamed 
again ; and this time he thought that the sun, the 
moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him. When 
he told this dream, his brothers were even more 
angry, and his father reproved him, and said, " Shall 
I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to 
bow down ourselves to thee to the earth ? " 

Do you remember that I told you that Cain kept 
the wicked thoughts in his heart and so grew worse 
and worse ? This is just what Joseph's brothers did. 
They kept on being angry with Joseph until the 
wicked thoughts in their hearts had grown so big 
that they were ready to do any cruel thing to him, 
their own brother. 

Jacob had a great many flocks, and, when the 
sheep had eaten all the grass near home, the older 
sons went off a long way to find new pasture for 
them. Jacob wished to hear from his sons, to know 
whether they were well ; so he sent Joseph to find 
them. Joseph wandered about some time, but did 
not find his brothers. At last a man told him where 
they were, and Joseph followed after them. When 
his brothers saw him coming, instead of being glad 
to see him and thankful for the food he had brought 
them and pleased because their father had sent their 
brother to learn whether they were well, they said to 
one another, " Here comes the dreamer." They felt 
very angry in their hearts because of his dreams, 
because they thought they were just as good as he, 
and they let the bad thoughts grow worse. 

Some of the brothers were so angry with him that 
they wanted to hurt him, but Reuben, the oldest 
brother, said, " No, let us not do him any harm ; but 
we will put him into this pit," a great empty hole 
there was near by, "and leave him there." Perhaps 
Reuben was not so cruel as his brothers, for in his 
heart he thought that after the other brothers had 



134 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

gone on he would take Joseph up out of the pit and 
take him home to his father. 

Then Reuben went off to another part of the 
field ; and, while he was gone, a band of merchants 
who were carrying goods to sell in Egypt came by, 
and Judah, one of the brothers, said to the others, 
" Let us sell Joseph to these people instead of leav- 
ing him in the pit." They drew their brother up out 
of the hole, and gave him to the men for money. If 
they had not allowed the wicked thoughts toward 
Joseph to be in their hearts, they could not have 
done so cruel a thing as to sell their own brother. 
But, when we let ourselves be angry with some one 
else, and let ourselves think naughty and wicked 
thoughts, then we cannot tell what awful things we 
may do. 

When Reuben came back and looked for Joseph 
in the pit, and did not find him, he felt very sad. He 
had not wished to hurt his brother, and had in- 
tended to take him back to his father after a little 
time. 

When the brothers returned home without Joseph, 
Jacob grieved for him a long time, he had loved 
Joseph so much. Another time we shall see what 
became of Joseph. 



MEMORY GEM, 

A little bit of patience often makes the sunshine come 
And a little bit of love makes a very happy home. 



OCCUPATION. 

Let the brothers be tending the sheep at some 
distance from Jacob's tents. Joseph should be made 
to search for them, and, when he at length finds 



JOSEPH THE BOY. 135 

them, be cast into the pit. After this the Mid- 
ianites' caravan comes up, and Joseph is sold and 
carried off. 



STORY. -THE LILY -PIPE. 

"The bubbles won't stay ! " cried Johnny. There 
were tears in his eyes. He had come out on the 
lawn to make soap-bubbles. Kate and Willie had 
been making them before they started for school. 
Johnny had been trying to do just as Willie did, 
but the bubbles always burst when he tried to toss 
them off. 

He stood looking across the flower-bed toward the 
street. He wished Willie were near enough to help 
him. 

" Why, what is that ? " he cried in surprise. " Is 
the sun coming down from the sky?" He winked 
the tears away and looked again. " Why, it 's a 
golden bubble, and it 's coming this way. It has 
passed the pine-tree already ! " 

It sunk lower and lower ; and, when it came near, 
it broke, and silvery clouds came rolling out of it. 
In the midst of the clouds there was a pretty little 
girl. Her golden ringlets were as fine and soft as / 
silk. They blew about her face as she came moving 
toward him. 

She held a pretty pipe in her hand. "Try this," 
she said, smiling and looking at Johnny. "The 
bubbles blown from it will never break. It will 
make pretty pictures." 

Johnny took it gladly. It looked like a golden 
lily with a hollow stem. It was beautiful. How 
kind the little girl had been to bring it ! Johnny 
would ask her to stay and play with him. He looked 
up. His face was all aglow with thanks. 

But there was no little girl there, nor any silvery 



136 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

clouds, nor golden bubble ! Was it a dream ? Johnny 
half believed it was. "But no, I have the pipe," 
he said ; " I shall try it, anyhow ! " 

The first bubble Johnny blew with his pipe showed 
the picture of the little girl who gave it. It did not 
float away. It was held fast by a golden thread. 
The thread came from the pistil of the lily. As 
Johnny blew, the thread grew longer. 

"This bubble makes a very pretty kite," thought 
Johnny. He broke the thread and tied it to a lilac- 
bush. Then he blew another bubble. Soon he had 
a dozen of them flying from the bush. When Johnny 
had grown tired of his pipe, he put it away in the 
garret for a while. But, whenever he had a pretty 
thought, he would bring it down again and blow a 
bubble. Johnny hid his bubbles in the garret. He 
was shy about having people see them, but he always 
showed them to his mother. They would go together 
and tie them to the rafters. On one of the bubbles 
was a garden of roses, with fairies, like butterflies, 
flitting among the flowers. There were pictures 
of the stories that Johnny loved to hear. The 
faces of the friends he knew looked fairer in the 
bubbles. 

One bubble seemed to Johnny the prettiest of all. 
It showed his mother's picture as she looked when 
he had pleased her. 

One day late in the summer Johnny came running 
into the house. " O, mamma," he cried, " may I go 
in swimming ? " 

But his mother shook her head. "No, Johnny," 
she said ; "the water is too cold." 

Now, Johnny had wished to go very much, and, 
besides, he hated to tell the boys, who waited at the 
gate, that his mother had said he should not go. The 
boys had told him, when he started to the house, that 
they never had to ask to go in swimming. It took 



JOSEPH THE BOY. 137 

Johnny a long time to walk back to the gate. He 
looked down all the way to hide his tears. 

" Mamma says I must n't go," he said, in a low 
voice. He did not dare to look up. He felt ashamed 
to have the boys know how he was feeling. 

" Why don't you go anyhow ? " asked little Sammie 
Horner. He felt sorry for Johnny, and he wanted 
him to go. " You can slip off through the garden, 
and she will never know ! " 

"No," said Johnny, "I wouldn't run off!" He 
meant to do right, even if it was hard. 

The big boy looked vexed. " Well, stay, and be a 
baby ! " he said, as he started down the street. He 
hated little Johnny for being a better boy than he 
was. So he laughed at him with the other boys. 
Johnny could hear them laughing as he ran into the 
house. He was angry now. How his cheeks burned ! 
His mother sat sewing by the window. 

"Mamma," he cried, "you are real mean not to 
let me go ! " 

His mother looked up, but she did not speak. 
Johnny wished that she would say something. He 
started off up-stairs, slamming the door as he went. 
He never stopped until he reached the garret. 

There hung his pipe among the cobwebs. He had 
not seen it for a long time. He took it down and 
began to blow a bubble. He had never before tried 
to make one when he felt cross. He blew hard, and 
now a strange thing happened. This bubble, instead 
of rising as the others had done, hung downward from 
the lily bell. 

He took the pipe from his mouth to look. What 
do you guess he saw upon the bubble ? It was a 
fierce tiger with open mouth showing white, cruel 
teeth! It looked eager to bite. "O!" cried 
Johnny, covering his eyes with his hands, " I did n't 
know my thoughts would look like that ! " He wished 



I38 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

that he could hide the bubble. What if mamma 
should see it ! He took it to the window and broke 
the thread. 

The bubble fell at his feet with a thud. " It will 
never fly away," cried Johnny; "what shall I do ?" 

He would not ask mamma. How cross he had 
been to her ! He leaned against the wall to think. 
At last he looked up. " I know what I shall do with 
it ! " he cried, and he started down the stairs. 

Johnny carried it to the river, and threw it far out 
into the water. The heavy thing sank down, down, 
into the mud and slime. Johnny's heart was grow- 
ing lighter all the time that it was sinking. " I can 
make a pretty bubble now ! " he cried. He ran gayly 
to the garret for his pipe. 

O, that bubble that he blew, when he had thrown 
his bad thoughts from him ! I wish you might have 
seen it as it floated in the air. Johnny could not tell, 
himself, as he blew, what he was making. When he 
stopped at last to look at it, his tears were those of 
joy. Upon the airy bubble a silver mist seemed part- 
ing, and an angel with white wings was smiling back 
at him. — From " Twilight Stories," by Elizabeth E. 
Fonlke. 

By permission of Silver, Burdett & Company, publishers. 



LESSON XX. 
JOSEPH THE RULER. 

" See I have set thee over all the land of Egypt." — Gen. 41 : 41. 

When the band of Midianites, to whom his broth- 
ers had sold Joseph, reached Egypt, they sold him 
to a man named Potiphar. Joseph's life now was 
very different from the life he had led at home. His 
father had always been kind and loving to him ; here 
in Potiphar's house he was only a servant. Joseph 
tried to do what was right, however, and he served 
Potiphar so faithfully, and was always so kind and 
cheerful, that after a time Potiphar made him ruler 
over the rest of the servants in his house ; that is, 
the other servants were all told to do whatever 
Joseph said. Still, Joseph could not be as happy as 
he would have been in his own home ; but God 
planned it all, and you will see that it was all for the 
best. 

After a time some one told Potiphar a wicked lie 
about Joseph. Potiphar was so angry that, without 
waiting to learn whether it was really true, he put 
Joseph in prison. Even in the prison God blessed 
Joseph, and, because he always did what was right, 
the keeper of the prison gave him charge over the 
other prisoners. This made it much easier for him, 
and he was thankful to God for helping him. 

When Joseph had been in prison several years, 
King Pharaoh dreamed two dreams that were so 
strange that he wanted to know what they meant. 
There were people in Egypt who said that they could 

139 



*40 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

tell the meaning of dreams. The king told them 
his dream and asked the meaning, but they could 
not tell him. Pharaoh was very angry with them. 
At last some one told the king about Joseph, and 
that perhaps he could tell what was the meaning of 
the dreams. The king sent for Joseph to be brought 
out of prison to him. 

When Joseph came before Pharaoh, the king said, 
" I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that 
can interpret it : and I have heard say of thee, that 
when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it." 
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, " It is not in 
me : God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." 
Joseph did not wish Pharaoh to think that he could 
tell what the dream meant ; only God could do that, 
but God could make the dream plain to Joseph, and 
Joseph could tell Pharaoh. 

Then the king told his dream. He said that he 
thought he stood by a river, and that seven good- 
looking cattle were eating the grass by the river's 
side. Then seven other cattle, which were thin and 
bad-looking, came up out of the river and ate up the 
seven fat cattle. Then Pharaoh awoke, but he soon 
fell asleep and dreamed again. This time he thought 
he saw seven ears of corn growing on one stalk, and 
they were ripe and good ; but after them came seven 
other ears of corn that were blasted by the wind and 
were thin and poor-looking. In his dream Pharaoh 
thought that the poor ears of corn ate up the seven 
good ears of corn. 

God showed Joseph what the dream meant ; and 
Joseph told Pharaoh that the dreams meant the same 
thing, and that he had had the two dreams because God 
wished to show him that they would surely come true. 
Joseph told the king that the seven fat cattle and the 
seven good ears of corn meant seven years when there 
should be plenty to eat. Then after this there would 



JOSEPH THE RULER. 141 

be seven years when nothing would grow and there 
would be no food, and they would be like the seven 
ears of corn that were bad and blasted. Joseph 
told Pharaoh that it would be best to find some one 
who was very wise to take charge of the food through 
the seven years of plenty, so that there should be 
some food kept for the years when nothing would 
grow. 

Pharaoh was very much pleased to learn what the 
dreams meant. He said that he knew of no one as 
wise as Joseph, and he made him ruler over all Egypt. 
The king took a gold ring off his finger, and put it 
upon Joseph's hand. He dressed him in a beautiful 
robe of linen, and put a chain of gold about his neck. 

Then Joseph ordered that a part of the corn and 
other grain which was raised during the year be put 
into great barns to keep until the years when there 
should be no food. Each year Joseph did this, until 
he had to have new barns built to hold all the grain. 

One especial thing we want to remember about 
this lesson of Joseph is that God made it all for the 
best. Even the selling of Joseph to be a slave far 
from his home was really a good thing for Joseph, 
because in that way he became a great man in Egypt, 
second only to the king. Another time we shall see 
how it was a good thing for the others. God makes 
everything work together for good. 

MEMORY GEM. 

And suppose the world don't please you, 

Nor the way some people do ; 
Do you think the whole creation 

Will be altered just for you? 
And is n't it, my boy or girl, 

The wisest, bravest plan, 
Whatever comes or does n't come, 

To do the best you can ? 



142 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

OCCUPATION. 

Build with the blocks Pharaoh's throne, and place 
on this something to represent the king. Let Joseph 
be brought in, the dream told, and the interpretation ; 
then let Pharaoh give to Joseph the ring and royal 
robe as insignia of his new office. 

STORY. -SULKY SIBYL. 

There was no help for it ; their visit to the panto- 
mime must be delayed. The rain was coming down 
in torrents, and Aunt Sophy was up-stairs with one 
of her terrible headaches. But, had it been ever so 
fine, she could not have taken them. Of course, it 
was very disappointing, for they were to have had 
such a lovely time ! Grandmamma was to have met 
them afterward, and driven them home to have 
supper with her, as it was Sibyl's birthday. 

"Well," cried Eric, "we must amuse ourselves 
somehow. Perhaps it will be for the best. Besides, 
auntie says she will take us another day." 

"But it won't be my birthday," argued Sibyl, with 
a shrug of her pretty shoulders. " It 's horrid stay- 
ing indoors on one's birthday, with nothing nice to 
do." 

" Suppose you make auntie a cup of tea your very 
own self," suggested Mary, the peacemaker of the 
family. " You know she thinks so much of our 
waiting on her when she is ill." 

" Indeed I shall not," said Sibyl, haughtily. " Jane 
can do that. Besides, I think she could have gone, 
had she liked." 

" O Sibyl ! " cried the brothers and sisters, re- 
proachfully. 

Now Sibyl intended, when she got up that corn- 
ing, to have so happy a day ! It began well enough. 



JOSEPH THE RULER. 143 

Certainly the Indian mail had not come with the 
letter from papa and mamma, who never forgot them 
on their birthdays ; but then there was the locket 
from grandmamma, and a purse from Aunt Sophy. 
Eric had given her a story-book she had been long- 
ing to read, and Mary and Norah must have spent 
all their pocket-money on a beautiful little box. 
Sibyl should have been the happiest of little girls ; 
but unfortunately she could not bear not to have her 
own way. So, while Mary, Eric, and Norah pre- 
pared tea and toast to take up to Aunt Sophy, Sibyl 
stood by with a frown on her pretty face, and an 
ugly feeling in her heart. It was of no use coaxing ; 
they all knew poor Sibyl was "in one of her sulks," 
as the family termed it ; the only thing to be done 
was to take no notice. 

So Sibyl sulked and sulked, and made every one 
miserable around her, and would most likely have 
kept up her sulky fit until the next morning, had 
not a big knock at the hall door and a tremendous 
ring at the bell startled her out of it. 

" A telegram from father, to wish you a happy 
birthday," cried Eric, dancing into the room, holding 
a telegram addressed to Aunt Sophy, in his hand. 

" Sibyl ! Sibyl ! Such a surprise ! " he exclaimed, 
a minute afterward as he again rushed into the room. 
" Hurrah ! Hurrah i Father and mother are coming 
home. They have left the ship, and will be here in 
less than an hour ! What now about missing the 
pantomime, Miss Sibyl ? Did n't I say it was all for 
the best ? " — Duttori s Holiday Annual. 



LESSON XXI. 

TOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 

" Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, 
even as God also in Christ forgave you.'''' — Eph. 4:32. 

There was a famine in Canaan where Joseph's 
father, Jacob, lived ; and, when he heard that there 
was corn in Egypt, he sent Joseph's ten brothers 
there after corn. He kept Benjamin, the youngest, 
at home, for he was afraid that some harm would 
come to him. Neither Jacob nor his sons knew that 
Joseph had become the governor of Egypt ; and, 
when the brothers saw him, they did not know him. 
He was a boy when they sold him to the Ishmaelites ; 
now he was a man. Joseph knew his brothers, but. 
he did not wish to have them know him at first. He 
wanted to see whether they were sorry because they 
had treated him so unkindly years before. 

As Joseph was the governor of Egypt, when his 
brothers came to him, they bowed down to him and 
called him " my lord," and said they were his ser- 
vants. You see how exactly the dream came true. 
Joseph asked them about their home, about their 
father and their families. They supposed he was an 
Egyptian, for he spoke in that language. They could 
not understand it, and a man stood by who told them 
in their own language what Joseph said. His brothers 
thought that he could not understand them ; so they 
talked among themselves, and from what they said 
Joseph thought they were really sorry they had been 
so wicked to him when he was a boy. 

Still, Joseph did not tell them who he was ; he 
144 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. I45 

wanted to be very sure that they were truly sorry. 
He asked them about their younger brother Benja- 
min, and said that they must bring him down to 
Egypt that he might see whether they were telling 
the truth. Finally he gave them the corn, and they 
went back to Canaan, and told Jacob all that the 
governor had said and done. When Jacob learned 
that the governor had told them not to come again 
after more corn unless they brought Benjamin with 
them, he felt sad. He had missed Joseph so much, 
and Benjamin was his youngest son and so dearly 
loved that he was afraid something would happen to 
him if he, too, went down to Egypt. 

At length, however, their corn was all gone and 
the brothers must go to Egypt for more. They told 
their father they did not dare to go without Benjamin, 
for the governor had said he must come. At last Jacob 
let him go with his brothers. When Joseph heard 
that his brothers had returned to Egypt, he ordered 
a fine dinner, and invited them all to his house, as he 
was going to have them dine with him. 

The brothers did not know what was going to 
happen to them because they were taken to the gov- 
ernor's own house. They bowed themselves to the 
earth, and had a present ready to give him. Joseph 
spoke to them kindly, and asked them whether their 
father was well. When he saw Benjamin, he was so 
glad that he could not keep the tears back, and he 
went into his chamber that the brothers might not 
see him weep. He was not ready to tell them who 
he was yet. When he came to seat them at dinner, 
he placed the oldest first and then the rest in the 
order of their ages ; and they wondered how the 
Egyptian governor knew so much about them. 

After Joseph had talked more with them he felt 
sure that they were really sorry for their wrong- 
doing. He told all the servants to leave the room ; 



I46 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

and, when only he and his brothers were left, he told 
them who he was, and kissed them. He was very 
kind to them, and told them not to grieve because 
they had sold him away into Egypt. God had sent 
him there to tell the king of the famine that was to 
come, and to save the corn from other years for this 
time when there would be none. Then he also told 
them to go back to their home and tell his father 
that he was well and happy in Egypt. He sent 
wagons to bring his father and all his household 
down to Egypt to live near him. 

When the brothers returned to Canaan and told 
their father all that Joseph had said, he was very 
much pleased, and hastened to gather all his things 
together and go to Egypt. How happy a man he 
was when he reached Egypt and saw all his sons to- 
• gether, and found Joseph, whom he loved and had 
missed so much, governor of Egypt ! 

Joseph took his father to the king's house, and 
Jacob blessed Pharaoh ; and the king gave him all 
the land of Goshen in which to live. So Jacob and 
his sons and all their families lived there, and tended 
their cattle. Thus we see how God could make even 
so wicked an act as selling their own brother to be a 
slave, come out right in the end, and how he could 
make it a blessing, not only to the brothers and their 
father, but also to all the people of Egypt, for with- 
out Joseph they would have had no food. 

God brought good out of the evil that the brothers 
did ; but their wrong-doing hurt them, and they 
could never be as happy, because they must always 
remember how wicked they had been. 



MEMORY GEM, 

O, many a shaft at random sent 
Finds mark the archer little meant ! 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. I47 

And many a word at random spoken 

May soothe or wound a heart that 's broken. 

— Sir Walter Scott. 

OCCUPATION. 

Carry out the idea of the lesson by having the 
brothers go down to Egypt for com, and finally 
Jacob and all his family make the journey. This 
can be made more or less elaborate as desired. Card- 
board can be used for tents. Cattle and servants may 
be represented or not as desired. 

STORY. — THE HITCHING - POST. 

" Harry ! " called his father, " I have something 
new to show you. See this smooth, straight post. 
I am going to have Tom put this into the ground in 
front of the house so that the horses may be hitched 
to it. You are so fond of tying the horses that I 
thought I would let the post be yours. I am always 
pleased to see my boy show himself a little gentle- 
man, as he does when he offers to hold or hitch their 
horses for our friends ; but it grieves me when he is 
not just as polite and kind to his own little brother." 

Harry hung his head, for he had just taken away 
the shovel from his younger brother, Roger, to use 
himself. 

" The post is yours, Harry ; but, when you say an 
unkind word to Roger, or do to him what you would 
not like to have him do to you, then I shall have to 
drive a nail into the post to remind you that you 
were unkind. Then, whenever you show yourself 
kind and unselfish, I will draw one out." 

For several days Harry was very careful to do 
what would please Roger, but after that he forgot 
and spoke to him in so unkind a way that his father 
was much grieved. Taking Harry by the hand, he 



I48 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

went out to the post, and a nail was driven part way 
into the' wood. 

Harry determined that the nail should soon come 
out, for he intended to be very kind to Roger. The 
next day it rained so hard that Roger could not go 
out-of-doors to play, and Harry offered to stay in the 
house with him. That night, when his father came 
home and asked about the day, he told Harry that 
they would pull out that nail. Harry had been al- 
most ready to cry when it was driven into his post, 
but now he felt very happy, and said to himself that 
no more nails would need to be driven. The next 
day, however, Harry was careless and did not try to 
be unselfish to his brother, and that night two nails 
were driven into the post. These stayed in, and 
others soon followed them. 

Then Harry grew naughty about it, and said to 
himself : " I don't care if father does drive the nails 
into the post. I can't help it anyway." 

Some time after this, as Harry stood under the 
open sitting-room window late one afternoon, he 
overheard Roger say : " O papa, please do not drive 
the nail into the post. I don't think Harry meant 
to spoil my play, and perhaps he will do better to- 
morrow." 

Harry wandered round to the front of the house 
and looked at the hitching-post ; then he counted the 
nails and thought about what Roger had just said. 
He began to feel ashamed of himself. " It is too bad 
to be unkind to such a dear, good brother. What a 
lot of nails father has had to drive in ! " Harry be- 
gan to reckon to see how long it would take him to 
get all the nails out again if his father drew out two 
a day. He stood looking at the post for some time, 
and at last said to himself, " I will do better, arid if 
possible two of those nails shall come out each day 
until they are all gone." 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 1 49 

Harry did try. He worked hard to please Roger, 
and nail after nail was drawn out. Sometimes he 
failed, and only one nail could be taken out at night ; 
once in a while another nail was driven in ; but most 
of the time Harry succeeded so well in doing to 
Roger just as he would have liked to have Roger 
do to him, that the nails were fast disappearing from 
the post, and all the family spoke of how pleasant 
Harry was growing. 

At last came the day when there was but one nail 
left, and Harry and his father went out to the post 
to draw out that one. As Harry watched his father 
take it out, the tears began to gather in his eyes ; 
and soon he could not bear it any longer, but began 
to cry outright. 

"Why, what's the matter, Harry?" asked his 
father. " I thought you would be glad to have the 
nails all out." 

" I am glad, father ; but the holes are still there, 
and I can't help thinking how many times I must 
have done wrong to make so many nail-holes." 

" That is the sad part of it, my son. Wrong-doing 
does leave a scar that we can never remove. We 
must always bear the mark of it upon ourselves ; but 
God is sorry for us when we do wrong, and is always 
ready to forgive us and help us if we truly wish to do 
better." 



LESSON XXII. 
MOSES. 

" Thus did Moses : according to all that the Lord commanded him, 
so did heT — Exod. 4.0 : 16. 

One day a king's daughter went to the river to 
bathe. When she and her maidens reached the 
place, they saw a basket out in the water. She sent 
one of her maidens to bring it to the shore. When 
the princess looked inside, there lay a dear little 
baby, who looked up into her face and began to cry. 
She pitied the poor little thing. He was so sweet 
that she wanted to kiss him and love him. 

Should you like to know why this little baby was 
out in the water in the curious basket ? We shall 
have to think back to the time when Joseph had all 
his brothers come from Canaan to Egypt to live. 
You remember there were eleven of them. They all 
had sons and daughters, and these had children until 
by and by they became a great nation just as God 
had promised Abraham, and were called "the chil- 
dren of Israel." 

After a time there was another king who did not 
remember Joseph or the good he had done. This 
king began to be unkind to God's people and to 
make them work very hard. Then he grew cruel, 
and treated them so badly that they were afraid of 
him. This wicked king would even hurt little boys. 
One mother who had a dear boy baby was so afraid 
that something would happen to him that she hid 

150 




FINDING OF MOSES. 
From a painting by Delaroche. 



MOSES. I5t 

him in the house until he grew so large that she 
feared some one would hear him cry. She was 
afraid whenever any one came near the house, for 
fear the dear little baby boy would be hurt. At last 
she made a basket like a boat of bulrushes, and covered 
the outside of it with slime and pitch, so that the 
water would not get inside. When it was all done, 
she placed the little babe in the basket, and, carrying 
it down by the river Nile, she left it among the 
reeds that grew by the bank. 

I know you will understand how hard it was for 
her to put her dear little baby out there in the water, 
but she was doing the 'best she could that nothing 
should hurt her little one. She left his older sister 
by the bank of the river to watch and see whether 
all was right. 

Then the daughter of the king came to the river 
to bathe, and found the basket boat with its sweet 
babe. As she stood there looking down at the little 
face, the baby's sister, Miriam, who had been watch- 
ing all the time, came to her side. I am sure Miriam 
was a little afraid, for she had never spoken to a 
princess, but she must do what she could for her dear 
brother. So she asked the king's daughter whether 
she would like to have her find a nurse to take care 
of the babe. The princess told her she might go for 
one, and Miriam ran home and brought her mother. 
When she came, the princess told her that, if she 
would take the child and nurse him, she would pay 
her good wages. 

Miriam and the mother hastened home with the 
baby, very happy, for now no one would hurt him. 
The princess had asked the woman to take care of 
the babe, and no one would dare do anything to a 
child that belonged to the king's daughter. 

The mother taught him about the God who made 
him and made all the things he saw around him. 



152 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

She taught him to do what God said, whether it was 
easy or not. When he grew older, his mother took 
him to the king's palace, where he lived with the 
princess as if he were her own son. She called him 
Moses, and had the wise men of the land teach him 
all that they could. Thus he became a wise and 
good man, for he did not forget what his own mother 
had taught him about God and about serving him. 
After a number of years God told Moses that he 
wished him to go to the king and ask him to let his 
people, the children of Israel, go away from Egypt 
back to Canaan, and God promised to help Moses. 
Then Moses did whatever the Lord said, and God 
helped him as he had promised. 



MEMORY GEM. 

Two little eyes to look to God, 
Two little ears to hear his word, 
One little tongue to speak his truth, 
One heart to give him now in my youth, 
Two little feet to walk his ways, 
Two hands to work for him all my days ; 
Take them, dear Jesus, and may they be 
Ever obedient and true to thee. 



OCCUPATION. 

A rough representation of the ark of bulrushes can 
easily be made by weaving together splints, or even 
by cutting strips from stiff paper. Make the river 
and the bank on the sand-board, and place the ark in 
the river. Place the figure to represent Miriam near 
by; and, when the princess and her maidens come, 
let one of them draw the ark to the shore. Then 
Miriam should be sent to bring the mother. 



MOSES. 153 

STORY. — JUST AS WELL. 

"Be sure, my child," said the widow to her little 
daughter, "that you always do just as you are told." 

"Very well, mother." 

" Or, at any rate, do what will do just as well," 
said the small house-dog, called So-so, as he lay 
blinking at the fire. 

One day the widow was going out on business, 
and she called her little daughter, and said to her : 
" I am going out for two hours. You are too young 
to protect yourself and the house, and So-so is not 
as strong as Faithful was. But, when I go, shut 
the house-door, and bolt the big wooden bar, and be 
sure that you do not open it for any reason whatever 
till I return. If strangers come, So-so may bark, 
which he can do as well as a bigger dog. Then they 
will go away. With this summer's savings I have 
bought a quilted petticoat for you and a duffle cloak 
for myself for winter ; and, if I get the work I am 
going after to-day, I shall buy enough wool to knit 
warm stockings for both of us. So be patient till I 
return, and then we will have the plum-cake that is 
in the cupboard for tea." 

" Thank you, mother." 

" Good-by, my child. Be sure to do just as I have 
told you," said the widow. 

" Very well, mother." 

Little Joan laid down her doll, and shut the house- 
door, and fastened the big bolt. It was very 
heavy, and the kitchen looked gloomy when she had 
done it. She got into the rocking-chair to put 
her doll to sleep. After a time she grew tired of 
this. 

"It's a beautiful day," said little Joan. "I wish 
mother had allowed us to sit on the door-step. We 
could have taken care of the house — " 



154 TH E BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

" Just as well," said So-so. " The air smells fresh," 
he continued. 

Little Joan came to smell the air at the keyhole, 
and, as So-so had said, it smelt very fresh. Besides, 
one could see from the window how fine the evening 
was. 

" It 's not exactly what mother told us to do," 
said Joan, " but I do believe — " 

" It would do just as well," said So-so. 

By and by little Joan unfastened the bar and 
opened the door, and she and the doll and So-so went 
out and sat on the door-step. 

" It does just as well, and better," said little Joan ; 
"for, if any one comes, we can see him coming up 
the field path." 

"Just so," said So-so, blinking in the sunshine. 

Suddenly Joan jumped up. "O!" cried she, 
"there's a bird, a big bird. Dear So-so, can you see 
him?" 

" Til catch him," said So-so, and he put up his 
tail and started off. 

" No, no ! " cried Joan. " You must stay and 
take care of the house, and bark if any one comes." 

While they were talking, an old woman came up 
to the door ; she had a brown face, and black hair, 
and a very old red cloak. 

" Good evening, my little dear," said she. " Are 
you all at home this fine evening ? " 

" Only three of us," said Joan, " I, and my doll, 
and So-so. Mother has gone to the town on busi- 
ness, and we are taking care of the house ; but So-so 
wants to go after the bird we saw run into the corn. 
I should like to go after it myself, but we can't leave 
the house." 

" I have some distance to go this evening," said 
the old woman, "but I do not object to a few 
minutes' rest ; and sooner than that you should lose 



MOSES. I55 

the bird I will sit on the door-step to oblige you, 
while you run down to the corn-field." 

They did not catch the bird, though they stayed 
longer than they had intended. When they reached 
the house, the old woman had gone, and she had 
taken the quilted petticoat and the duffle cloak, and 
the plum-cake from the top shelf, away with her, 
and was never seen again. 

When the widow reached home and found what 
had happened, she felt very sad ; for she did not 
know where she could get more clothes to take the 
place of the ones the old woman had stolen, and, 
what was worse, her daughter had not obeyed and 
done what her mother had said. 

" For the future, my child," said the widow, " I 
hope you will always do just as you are told, what- 
ever So-so may say." — Arranged from Mrs. Juliana 
Horatia Ewing. 



LESSON XXIII. 

THE WILDERNESS, 

" / will rain bread from heaven . . . that I may prove them, 
whether they will walk in my law or no" — Exod. 16 : 4. 

God had made King Pharaoh let the children of 
Israel go away from Egypt. God had helped Moses 
in all that he had to do, just as he had promised. 
Now the people were to be taken through a great 
wilderness in order to get to the promised land of 
Canaan. Do you know what this wilderness was 
like ? It was not a beautiful country with green 
grass and trees, with streets and houses, or with great 
fields of corn and grain. The ground was hot and 
sandy. It was a dreary place. 

The Israelites had carried water with them from 
Egypt, but after a time this was gone and they grew 
thirsty. By and by they came to some water, but 
it was bitter and not good to drink. The people 
were very much disappointed, and complained and 
scolded about it just as children do when things do 
not please them. But God loved his people. He 
did not wish them to suffer ; he longed to have them 
feel that he would care for them, just as he wishes 
us to know that he will do for us whatever is best. 
God taught Moses how to make the water fit to 
drink. How glad they were to have plenty of good 
water after being so thirsty ! Should you think that 
they would forget how kind God had been to them ? 

The different kinds of grain — corn, wheat, and 
barley — did not grow in the wilderness ; and the 

156 



THE WILDERNESS. 1 57 

Israelites had soon eaten all their food and begun to 
be hungry. No animals lived there that could be 
caught and used for food. The people thought of 
the time when they lived in Egypt and had plenty 
to eat, but they thought little about all the work 
they had been obliged to do. They also forgot how- 
God had made the bitter water sweet. Instead of 
asking him to help them, they complained because 
Moses had brought them away from Egypt, where 
there was corn and grain. 

God had not taken his people from a country 
where there was plenty of food to starve them in the 
wilderness. The children of Israel were his chosen 
people. He loved them and would take care of 
them; but he wished them to do just what he said, 
to trust and obey. When the Israelites complained 
because they had not enough to eat, God made a 
great flock of quail fly down near the ground. There 
were a great many of these birds, and they had been 
flying so far and were so tired that they were easily 
caught. The people captured a great many of them, 
not only enough for them to eat at the time, but 
many more, which they preserved so that they had 
plenty of meat for some time. 

The next morning, when the children of Israel 
awoke, the ground was covered with a white, frost- 
like thing that they had never seen before. It seemed 
as if it had rained down from heaven. It lay all 
over the ground like frost in the early morning. 
The people did not know what to make of it. God 
had told them that it was for food ; so some of the 
people ground it fine, and made it into a kind of 
bread that was sweet and good when baked. The 
people called this white thing " manna," and after a 
little time all the people gathered it to cook and eat. 

God told the people to gather enough for one day, 
for he would send it to them fresh each morning, 



I58 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

Some of the people, however, took enough for more 
than one day ; but in the morning they found the 
manna which they had not used was no longer good. 
However, the ground was covered with fresh manna 
as God had promised. 

God wished them to rest from work on the seventh 
day, so as to have time to learn about him. There- 
fore the people were told to gather twice as much as 
usual on the sixth day, that they might have enough 
for the seventh day, which was called the " Sabbath," 
God's holy day. Some did not gather extra manna 
on the sixth day, thinking that they would find plenty 
on the next, although God had told them that they 
would not. When the morning of the Sabbath came, 
there was none to be found. The food gathered on 
the sixth day to be used on the Sabbath kept quite 
good, for God wished it to be so. 

The people began to learn that it was better to do 
just as God said. They forgot this very often, but 
God was kind and forgave them, and cared for them 
all the time that they were in the wilderness. He 
cares for us now just as much as he did for the chil- 
dren of Israel, and it is right and best for us to do 
whatever God says, just as it was for them. 



MEMORY GEM.. 

Over and over again, 

No matter which way I turn, 
I always find in the book of life 

Some lesson I have to learn. 



OCCUPATION. 

Make cardboard tents to illustrate the habitations 
of the people. Scatter white seeds or grain to rep- 
resent the manna which is to be gathered. Let the 



THE WILDERNESS. 1 59 

children think of themselves as the Israelites for the 
time being. A double portion of the manna should 
be gathered to last over the Sabbath. 

STORY. — THE DAISY DANCE. 

"Stella! Stella! Star! Star! Star!" 
" Yes, here I am ; I'm Stella, but who are you ? " 
"Just turn your head a little bit this way, and 
you'll see. How do you do, Stella, Star, Star?" 

O, such a wee little bit of a lady ! Perched right on 
the edge of a daisy, nodding away, as friendly as if 
she were a little grandma. Her little skirts stood 
out like wings, and her golden hair waved back from 
her pretty face. There were butterfly wings at her 
cunning shoulders. 

" It is n't everybody that can see me. O, no ; I 
only come to little people in their sleep, and then, 
when they wake up, they know they've had a dream ; 
but they remember what I 've told them, because 
I 'm really a little spirit of the air, a fairy, if you like. 
I heard you sigh because there were no children just 
your age for you to play with. But you're just in 
time for a daisy dance. And such fun ! If there 
are any questions you want to ask, you can, and I '11 
try to answer, but you had better ask before the 
dance begins ! " 

"Then, pretty fairy, what made you call me 
Star ? " 

"Because I heard them' call you Stella, and Stella 
means star." 

" And please what is a daisy dance ? " 
"That you'll see in a moment, Stella, Star. We 
fairies love everything sweet and bright. That is 
why I like to call you Star, because the stars with 
their twinkling eyes are always dear friends to the 
fairies. But see ; here comes our merry brother, 



l6o THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

Breeze, and all the Daisy family are up and finely 
dressed, all ready for their promised dance. Look 
now ! One ! two ! three ! and go ! " 

O, what a sight ! All over the daisy meadow fine 
little daisy queens and smart little daisy princes 
bowing to each other, then courtesying and nodding ; 
up and down in rows and rows they flew toward each 
other, then back again, their white dresses and yellow 
belts hiding their little green stockings as they 
swayed back and forth, keeping time to the wild, 
sweet music of the fairy's brother Breeze. 

" Do they dance every day ? " asked Stella. 

" No ; sometimes it rains, and then my sisters 
tuck their delicate dresses about their yellow belts, 
and stand quietly in the grass which shelters them. 
There they stand until told what next to do." 

" Why, do such little things as daisies learn what 
they must do ? " 

" Certainly, Stella, Star. I am the Queen of the 
Summer, and we have our laws just as much as your 
mother has her little laws or rules that you must 
obey." 

" But suppose a daisy won't obey ; what then ? " 

" Then the poor little thing withers away. I am 
always sorry. But, queen though I am, I cannot 
keep a daisy alive that will not obey daisy laws." 

"But I thought daisies were just daisies," said 
Stella. " I thought they happened to spring up, and 
lived a little while, only for the reason that they 
happened to live. I did n't know there was any use 
for them, but thought they soon happened to die, 
just as they had happened to live." 

" O my dear Stella, Star ! Nothing only happens 
in the world. I don't know why this is, because I 'm 
only a little sprite of the air. But long ago I found 
out there were laws, very kind and gentle ones, yet 
laws for everything that is ever made, even for the 



THE WILDERNESS. l6l 

stones. Nearly every daisy that grows is good and 
obedient ; but once in a while — O, dear ! Perhaps 
you'll understand best if I tell you about a daisy that 
would not obey. When the sun begins to shut his 
great red eye, I cry, ' Come, daisies all, hold up your 
mouths for your supper. Here it comes, soft, sweet, 
gentle dew ; take all you can.' But naughty daisy 
would n't hold up her head, would n't open her mouth, 
would n't obey a word. Pretty soon I called, ' Come, 
daisies all, fold your dresses close, and shut up your 
bright little eyes ; night has come ; it is time to 
sleep.' But this naughty little daisy kept her eyes 
wide open and her delicate dress unfolded. Early in 
the dewy morning I called again : ' Come, daisies all, 
morning is here ; spread your white dresses and 
drink in the drops, the cool, refreshing drops falling 
from the sky and sparkling with the rays of the 
sun.' But naughty daisy would not drink, would 
not look up, would not obey. At noon, when the 
sun grew hot, and the bees were humming about, 
and the birds were fairly shaking with song, poor 
little daisy began to droop. Her pretty dress hung 
straight down, leaving her yellow belt standing alone 
and bare. Her merry friends, the bees, knew there 
was no honey in her deep little heart ; the birds 
knew there was no use to sing her a song. I would 
gladly have helped poor foolish little daisy, if I could ; 
but not even a daisy can live if it breaks the laws 
that are made for its life. So she drooped and fell. 
And her little brothers and sisters spread their white 
dresses over the place where she lay, and she was 
seen no more." — From " The Fairies of Fern Dingle" 
by Harriet A. Che ever. Congregational Publishing 
Society. 



LESSON XXIV. 
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 

" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all 
thy soul, and with all thy mind. . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
thyself.' 1 '' — Matt. 22 : jf, 39. 

When the children of Israel had been three months 
in the wilderness, they came to the mountain called 
Sinai. Here God told them to rest awhile. They 
put up their tents and stayed a number of weeks, for 
God had a great many things to tell them and many 
wonders to show them. Moses went up the mountain 
to talk with God, but the people stayed at the foot. 
God told Moses to speak to the people ; to remind 
them how he had brought them from Egypt, how he 
had made the water good to drink, how he had given 
them food, and how he had cared for them all the 
way. Then God promised to take care of them 
always, and that they should become a great nation, 
his own chosen people, if they would obey him. And 
all the people promised to do whatever God said. He 
will do the same for us if we obey him. 

Moses told the people that they must not go near 
the mountain, because God was coming down in his 
glory upon the mountain. No person but Moses 
must see God. A cloud hung over Mount Sinai, 
and it looked to the children of Israel as if it were 
on fire, and the whole mountain shook. Do you 
suppose Moses was afraid ? He no doubt felt very 
solemn, but I do not think he was afraid. When he 
heard the trumpet of God, which sounded long and 
loud, he went up the mountain into the very midst 

162 



THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 1 63 

of the cloud and smoke, and there he talked with 
God. He must have been a very holy man, for no 
one else has been allowed to speak with God in just 
this way. 

God gave Moses ten commandments, ten laws that 
the people were to obey, just as many as there are 
fingers and thumbs on your two hands. They were 
written on two tables of stone by the finger of God 
himself. Moses stayed on the mountain with God 
forty days and forty nights, for there were many 
things that God wished to tell him. All this time 
the people of Israel stood away from the mountain, 
and saw the lightnings and the mountain smoking, 
and heard the thunderings and the noise of the 
trumpet. 

The ten commandments that God gave the children 
of Israel are meant for us as much as for them. Let 
us use our two hands to help us remember about 
them. The first four commandments tell us how we 
ought to love and serve God. Let us begin with the 
thumb on the right hand. God said, " Thou shalt have 
none other gods before me." The people in Egypt 
thought there were many gods ; there is but one. 
We are to have no other gods at all, for there is but 
one God. We must love him and try to do what will 
please him. We will remember for the thumb, " One 
God." The second commandment tells us how to 
worship God, and that, if we do as he wishes, he will 
bless us and all our children. For the pointer we 
will try to remember, " Worship God " in the right 
way. The third commandment says, "Thou shalt not 
take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." We 
must not use God's name in a careless way ; we must 
not speak his name in fun or in a naughty way, but 
always remember that he is God. For the tall man 
we will remember that we must be reverent when we 
speak of God, and not laugh or play. The fourth 



164 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

commandment is, " Remember the Sabbath day, to 
keep it holy." God says we have six days in which 
to work and play, and the Sabbath day is for us to 
learn about him and to worship him. 

Four commands God gave us about loving him ; 
first, have but one God ; second, worship him aright ; 
third, speak of him in the right way ; fourth, keep 
the Sabbath holy. 

God has given us fathers and mothers to care for 
us, to teach us what is right to do, to help us do what 
will please God. We cannot see God ; we do not 
understand about him as well as we do about father 
and mother. How kind and loving of God to give us 
our parents that we may learn how much God loves 
us by seeing how much our fathers and mothers love 
us ! God has made our parents wiser than we, that 
they may tell us what to do ; and he wishes us to 
obey them. The fifth commandment we will put for 
the little finger, next to the commands about loving 
God, " Honor thy father and thy mother." That is, 
love and obey them, and be kind and gentle to them, 
and always look up to them. 

We will not take each of the other five separately, 
because it would be hard for you to remember them. 
They teach us to be kind and unselfish and loving 
to all. Jesus said to love God with all our heart, 
and to love those about us as we love ourselves. If 
we do this, we are keeping the ten commandments. 



MEMORY GEM. 
The Story of the "Forget-me-not." 

When to flowers so beautiful 
The Father gave a name, 

Back came a little blue-eyed one, — 
All timidly it came, — 



THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. l6$ 

And, standing at the Father's feet 

And gazing in his face, 
It said with a meek and timid voice, 

Yet with a gentle grace, 
" Dear Lord, the name thou gavest me, 

Alas ! I have forgot." 
The Father kindly looked him down, 

And said, " Forget-me-not." 

— From the German. 



OCCUPATION. 

Make Mount Sinai by the use of a crumpled sheet 
of tissue-paper. Have cardboard tents placed all 
about near the mountain. Mark off the line about 
the mountain, beyond which the Israelites were not 
to go. Let one figure go up the mountain alone. 
While Moses is hidden from view on the mountain, 
make vivid to the children the smoking mountain, 
the thunderings and shakings. When Moses descends, 
have ready a paper marked to represent the two tables 
of stone, with four figures in a column on one table 
and the other six on the other table. Let the chil- 
dren tell over the commandments as given for the 
right hand in the lesson ; for the left hand impress 
upon their minds the substance of the Golden Rule, 
doing as one would be done by. 



STORY. — WHICH LOVED BEST? 

" I love you, mother," said little John ; 
Then, forgetting his work, his cap went on 
And he was off to the garden swing, 
And left her the water and wood to bring. 

"I love you, mother," said rosy Nell, 
" Love you better than tongue can tell." 



1 66 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

Then she teased and pouted full half the day, 
Till her mother rejoiced when she went to play. 

" I love you, mother," said little Fan ; 
" To-day I '11 help you all I can. 
How glad I am that school does n't keep ! " 
So she rocked the baby till it fell asleep ; 

Then, stepping softly, she brought the broom, 
And swept the floor and dusted the room ; 
Busy and happy all day was she, 
Helpful and happy as child could be. 

" I love you, mother," again they said, 
Three little children going to bed. 
Do you suppose that mother guessed 
Which of them really loved her best ? 

— Joy Allison. 

(Tell the story of the " Forget-me-not'" to illus- 
trate the first four commandments.) 



LESSON XXV. 
THE TABERNACLE. 

" Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary : I am the 
Lord." — Lev. ig: 30. 

After God had given Moses the ten command- 
ments he told him that he wished the people to 
make a tabernacle in which they could worship him. 
As the children of Israel kept moving from place 
to place, they could not build anything like our 
churches ; but they could have a large tent for God's 
house. God told Moses to build the tabernacle so 
that it could be taken to pieces when the children 
of Israel moved on to another place in the wilderness. 
It had two parts or rooms, one of them called the 
"holy of holies," where only Moses and Aaron could 
go- 

A chest was made, covered with beautiful figures 
of leaves and flowers of pure gold. At each corner 
was a ring of solid gold. Through these rings were 
long poles covered with gold, by which the chest 
was carried. On the top were placed two lovely 
cherubs made of gold, with their wings spread over 
it. This chest was called the "ark of the covenant." 
In it were put the two tables of stone upon which 
God had written the ten commandments. The ark 
was placed in the inner room, the holy of holies ; 
and in front of it hung an elegantly embroidered cur- 
tain, behind which the people were never to go. 

God also told Moses what to make for the larger 
167 



1 68 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

room of the tabernacle. There was to be a table of 
showbread ; this was also covered with gold, and on 
it stood two dishes upon which each Sabbath were 
placed twelve fresh loaves of bread. This table was 
to teach the people to love their homes. God wished 
them to love their homes, just as he wishes us to 
care for ours now. 

A beautiful candlestick made of gold and having 
seven lights was to be kept burning all the time. 
God made the light that we have, the sunlight, the 
moonlight, and the light from the stars ; even the 
lights we burn in our houses God got ready for us ; 
so the light from the candlestick was to remind the 
people of God's kindness. 

A golden altar was made, upon which incense was 
to be burned. When the priests offered incense, 
making sweet odors, the people prayed. 

God told Moses to have beautiful curtains for the 
tabernacle. Some of them were to be embroidered 
with blue, scarlet, and purple. 

A tent was made of goats' hair, over which were 
put other skins to protect all from the rain. Every- 
thing was of the best, for it was God's house. 

Around the tent under which was the tabernacle 
was a court, into which the people were allowed to 
come. Even this court had curtains embroidered 
with different colors and gold. It was all made as 
beautiful as possible. 

When the tabernacle was finished, a cloud covered 
the part where the ark stood. All the people could 
see this ; even the women and children who might 
be some distance away from the tabernacle, tending 
their flocks in some spot where grass grew, could 
see the cloudy pillar and know just where the taber- 
nacle stood. At night this cloud looked like fire, 
and could be seen all around. 

Whenever God wished the people to go forward, 



THE TABERNACLE. 1 69 

the cloud rose higher and moved on to the place 
where they were again to rest and pitch their tents. 
As long as the cloud remained over the tabernacle 
the children of Israel rested. When they were again 
to go forward, the cloud went before them. Thus 
the people knew when to remain in their tents and 
when to march on toward Canaan. 

Thus God took care of his children all the time, 
though the children of Israel often did wrong. God 
forgave them a great many times, just as he does 
when we do wrong now. He wanted to help them 
as he is glad to help us now. He had them make 
the tabernacle for a holy place to him, that it might 
help them to remember him and all that he did for 
them. He wished them to pray to him there, and 
to reverence his house ; to think it a holy, blessed 
place because it was his. 

In just the same way God wishes us to think of 
his house, the church, as his home, a place where he 
is always ready to listen to us, where he is glad to 
have us go to worship and praise him and to learn 
about him. He is pleased when we go regularly to 
church, and when we try to sing and to understand 
what the minister is saying about Jesus. Even little 
children can please God by being quiet and listening 
in church. 

MEMORY GEM. 

I was glad when they said unto me, 
Let us go unto the house of the Lord. 
Our feet are standing 
Within thy gates, O Jerusalem. 

— Psalms. 

OCCUPATION. 

There is a little model of the tabernacle that can 
be put together to show the different parts, the 



170 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

various hangings, the ark of the covenant, the candle- 
stick, the table of showbread, etc. If this could be 
obtained, it would make the lesson very real and 
clear to the children. There are also paper illustra- 
tions of the tabernacle that the children can cut out 
and put together. If neither of these can be had, 
some picture of the tabernacle can be found as illus- 
tration, and it may be possible to find one that can 
be cut out and mounted so as to give a fair idea to 
the little ones. 

STORY. -MAY AT CHURCH. 

" Shall I dress May for church, mamma ? " asked 
May's older sister Florence. 

" I am afraid she can't go to-day, my daughter. 
My head aches so hard that I shall have to stay at 
home." 

" O mamma ! You said she might go if it was 
pleasant." 

" Yes, I should be glad to take her if I could go ; 
but you know she has never been to church, and I 
don't know how she would behave." 

" I am sure she would be good with me, mamma. 
Could I take her? If I sat very still, I think she 
would." 

" You are always a good girl at church, Florence, 
and May usually does whatever you do. Perhaps 
it would be safe to try her. When you have her 
dressed ready to go, bring her in here and I will 
talk with her. I want her to understand that she 
must be reverent in God's house." 

Away flew Florence to find her little sister. 

" O May ! Mamma says you may go to church 
with me if you will be a good girl and do just as 
Florence does." 

" I will, I will be good ! " 



THE TABERNACLE. 17I 

Soon the two were dressed. Florence had combed 
and braided May's hair and tied it with a new blue 
ribbon. Then they went to their mother's room. 
Mamma saw that both the girls looked all right ; then 
she said, as she laid her hand on her little girl's 
arm : " May is going to church for the first time. I 
want her to remember that she is in God's house, 
and that God himself is there, although she cannot 
see him. I hope she will remember that we go to 
church to worship God, to sing about him, to pray 
to him, and to listen to what the minister says about 
him. If we go with hearts full of love for God, and 
really want to show him that we know how great 
and good he is, we shall keep very quiet all the time 
we are in his house, and listen to all that is sung or 
said." 

" Yes, mamma ! I will sit as still as a mouse, and 
do just what Florence says." 

Their mother watched the two children as they 
started down the country road, then darkened her 
room and lay down to see whether the pain in her 
head would be better. 

Florence and May walked hand in hand along the 
shady road toward the village where they could see 
the church spire pointing to the beautiful sky, in- 
viting all to look up at the beautiful trees, the fleecy 
clouds, and the lovely blue dome. A little bird was 
singing a sweet song, and seemed to keep just ahead 
of them as if to show them the way. Then the bell 
began to call softly and slowly. Soon they were 
in the cool, dark church out of the heat and glare of 
the sun. Everything was very quiet. May sat still, 
but looked about her. There were a great many 
people, more than she had ever seen together before. 
The church was plain, but to May it seemed very 
grand. She felt quiet, and wondered whether it was 
because God was so near. 



172 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

Soon the choir began to sing. May loved music 
dearly, and would listen as long as any one sung. 
When the white-haired old man stood up in the pul- 
pit and began to read slowly and clearly from the 
Bible, May looked up into his sweet face and won- 
dered whether he looked so kind because he was in 
God's house so much. Then another hymn was 
sung, and again May was perfectly happy. As the 
others all bowed their heads in prayer, May did the 
same. It was still and quiet in the church, very 
different from the drowsy hum of the bees in the 
hot sunshine outside, or the bright, sunny rooms at 
home. 

After a little the minister began to preach. It 
was a long sermon, and our little girl could not 
understand much of what the minister said. One 
sentence she remembered and thought about : " If 
we think of the song of the birds and the music of 
the brooks as praise offered to God, they will help 
us to true worship of him." May wondered whether 
that meant that the birds and the brooks went to 
church, too. On her way home she asked Florence 
about it. 

" I don't know as he exactly meant that the birds 
go to church, but it seems to me that they sing to 
God because they are so glad, just as we sing at 
church because God has made us happy." 

When they reached home, mamma knew by one 
look at their faces that May had been a good girl, 
and said, " Did my little one like the church ? " 

" O, yes, mamma ! I liked it so much. The singing 
was so pretty, and the minister looked so kind. I 
hope I can go each Sunday now." 



LESSON XXVI. 
JOSHUA. 

" These stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel 
forever." — fosh. 4: 7. 

The children of Israel had travelled about in the 
wilderness for many years, and they were anxious to 
reach the land that God had promised to give them. 
God had told them that it was a beautiful country, 
that a great many kinds of fruit and grain grew there, 
and that there was plenty of good water. God's peo- 
ple were tired of wandering from place to place, and 
wanted to have homes for themselves. The children 
hardly knew what it meant to have a home to come 
to when they had finished their play. They did not 
know how good it seems to get home again after 
being away for a few days. 

Between the people and the good country, the land 
God had promised them, was a great river, the river 
Jordan. No bridge crossed the river, and the chil- 
dren of Israel had no boats. What should they do ? 
Then God told Joshua that he would help them. He 
had been taking care of his people all the way, and 
he would show them how to cross the river. 

Do you remember that Moses had made a beautiful 
ark covered with gold to stand in the tabernacle, and 
that in this ark were the tables of stone on which 
were written the ten commandments, and that this 
ark was holy because it was for God ? 

When the people wished to cross the river, God 
told Joshua to have the priests take up the ark of 

173 



174 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

the covenant and go before them to the river. The 
people were told not to go too near the ark, because 
it was holy. The priests were directed to stand still 
when they reached the river. Then Joshua told 
the children of Israel that God had taken care 
of them all the way, and that he would help 
them to cross the river. The priests stepped into 
the water, and all the people watched to see 
whether God would keep his promise and provide a 
way for them to cross. Should you not think they 
would have remembered how God had given them 
food and water in the wilderness and how he had 
helped them all the way, and believe that he would 
do as he promised ? 

God always keeps his promises, and he did this 
time. God promised that as soon as the feet of the 
priests who carried the ark should touch the water, 
the river would stop flowing and the water stand up 
in a pile, and then the people could go across on dry 
ground. Think of the water of some river near your 
home piling up in a heap at one side for you to walk 
across. We can hardly imagine such a thing as 
happening. But that is what God promised to do for 
his people. 

As soon as the priests stepped into the water, the 
whole river was stopped above them, and the people 
walked across on dry ground. The priests stood still 
until all the people had gone over. 

When all the nation had passed over the river Jor- 
dan, then the Lord spake unto Joshua, and told him 
to have twelve men go to the place where the priests 
had stood in the river, and to have each take a stone 
and carry it on his shoulder to the place where they 
stopped for the night, and there make a monument. 
Thus all should remember how God had stopped the 
water of the river Jordan that they might walk across. 

After a time, when the little children grew larger 



JOSHUA. 175 

and asked what that pile of stones was for, then the 
parents answered, " Because the waters of Jordan 
were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the 
Lord, and these stones shall be for a memorial unto 
the children of Israel forever." 

God was pleased to have his people tell of this, 
because he always wishes us to remember whenever 
he helps us, and to thank him for all the good times 
he gives us. 



MEMORY GEM. 

Butterflies and blossoms fair, 
And bees and birds and brooks, 
Sunshine sweet and summer air. 
And silent, shady nooks, — 
God just loves to let us play 
In playgrounds where he lives. 
O, won't we thank him every day 
Who gives and gives and gives ? 

— Selected. 



OCCUPATION. 

Represent the river Jordan by two long strips of 
paper, and have in the bed of the river twelve or more 
blocks for the stones. Place the men on one side of 
the river. Have the priests carrying the ark walk 
down to the brook ; and, as they touch the edge of the 
paper, move it back and double it up to represent the 
waters heaped up. Let the children move all the peo- 
ple across to the other side, and then select twelve 
men to go back to where the priests still stand with 
the ark, and bring the twelve stones and build the 
memorial. Then have the priests carry the ark across 
and the waters of the river return to their places. 



176 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

STORY. - GOD WILL KNOW. 

There is a beautiful story told of two little chil- 
dren standing in front of a handsomely lighted win- 
dow in one of our large cities. In the window were 
displayed tempting cakes and candies, and luscious 
fruits of all kinds. The eyes of both children looked 
longingly at the holiday sweets ; but the little girl, 
who was considerably older than her brother, soon 
felt the tears coming to her eyes, for she knew how 
impossible it was for them to have even a taste of the 
good things in the store. Even the little boy knew 
that there was no money with which to buy candy. 
As he continued to look at the fascinating things 
inside the window, he began to cry softly to himself. 

"O Harry," said his sister, "don't cry. Wouldn't 
it be nice if we could carry home something to 
mamma ? If you could have whatever you wanted, 
what would you choose ? " 

"That big orange," sighed Harry, as he bravely 
choked down his sobs. " Perhaps it would make her 
better." 

"Is your mother sick, little girl?" asked a kind 
voice behind them. 

"Yes, sir," she slowly answered; but, gaining 
courage from the pleasant smile on the man's face, 
she continued, " the doctor says she ought to have 
good things to eat, and we were only playing choose 
something for her." 

" Suppose you come inside and choose," continued 
the gentleman, who had been watching the children 
and had overheard the conversation. 

" But we have no money, sir," said the little girl, 
and again her eyes filled with tears. 

" Come in with me, and we will see what can be 
done." 

The children were delighted at the invitation, but 



JOSHUA. 177 

were too shy to do as he suggested. Taking them by 
the hand, he led them inside, and then bought more 
than they could carry of such good things as they 
had seen in the window. As they walked along, the 
little girl said, " Will you please tell me your name, 
sir ? " 

" O, never mind my name." 

" But mamma has told me to always pray for those 
who are kind to me and my brother, and I should 
like to tell God who you are." 

The gentleman looked very tenderly at the little 
girl, but only said, " Never mind about my name." 

When they reached the place where the children 
lived, the gentleman laid his gifts on the door-step 
and turned away with a cheery " Good-by," but the 
little girl said, " Well, sir, if you won't tell me your 
name, when I tell God about your kindness to us, he 
will know who you are." 



LESSON XXVII. 

THE FALL OF JERICHO. 

"Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." — 
2 Tim. 2:3. 

There was a great city called Jericho, which the 
children of Israel wished to enter. All around the 
outside was a high wall so that no one could climb 
over. The gates were all closed, and no one who 
did not live there could get in, because the people 
did not wish the Israelites to come into their city. 
The people of Israel had put up their tents in front 
and were waiting, since they knew not what to do. 

One day, as Joshua was thinking what could be 
done, the Lord talked with him and said that he 
would help the people, and that they should go into 
the city of Jericho. Then God told Joshua just 
what to do. 

Joshua called the priests, and said, " Take up the 
ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven 
trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord." 
Then Joshua told the men to march around the city 
ahead of the priests that carried the ark. Joshua 
told the people not to shout or to make any noise. 
They marched around the city, and the priests fol- 
lowed, carrying the ark and blowing the trumpets. 
When they had been around the city they went back 
to their tents for the night. 

The next day they marched around the city in the 
same manner, the priests blowing the trumpets, but 
the rest of the people keeping quiet. Then they 

178 



THE FALL OF JERICHO. 1 79 

returned to their tents for the night. The third day 
they again marched around the city walls, and went 
again to their tents. On the fourth day and on the 
fifth day and on the sixth day they marched around 
the city. 

" On the seventh day they rose early at the dawn- 
ing of the day," and marched as on the other days 
except that this day they went around the city seven 
times instead of but once. During the seventh time 
the trumpets blew a loud blast, and "Joshua said 
unto the people, Shout ; for the Lord hath given 
you the city. So the people shouted and the priests 
blew with the trumpets : and it came to pass, when 
the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the 
people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell 
down flat, so that the people went up into the city." 

Thus God let his people go into the city because 
they did just what he told them to do, and because 
they believed he would do what he had promised. It 
must have seemed strange to God's people to be told 
to march around the city once each day for six days 
and seven times on the seventh day. God wished 
them to obey even if it did seem strange. We all 
must obey ; we must obey God, we must obey our 
fathers and mothers, we must obey our teachers. 
Even the son of a king or the president must obey. 

Sometimes you sing, "We are little soldiers." 
Then, if you are to be soldiers, you must obey those 
who have the rule over you. Soldiers do not ask, 
" Why ? " but obey without a word. Soldiers do not 
stop to see whether what they are told to do will be 
pleasant, but they obey at once. Soldiers do not 
scowl when they are told to do something, but go 
about it with cheerful faces. 

Let us see whether for one week we can obey 
like soldiers, without question or hesitation, but 
quickly and cheerfully. 



l8o THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STCRY. 

MEMORY GEM. 

I'ma little soldier 
Of the heavenly King ; 
Ever in his praises 
I can speak and sing. 

OCCUPATION. 

Build the city of Jericho, houses and city wall, 
taking pains to make the wall the proper height 
in proportion to the height of whatever is to be used 
to represent the men. Pitch the tents outside the 
city wall. March the men and priests once around 
the city, and have them return to the camp. Have 
the men who represent the priests carrying trumpets 
differ in some way from the other men, and have 
priests carry the ark. Let the children move the 
whole procession around the city in as orderly a 
manner as possible. This can easily be done by 
putting all the men on a sheet of paper, and gently 
sliding the paper along. The procession can be 
made to march around the city as many times as 
the teacher thinks best ; but the children should 
be made to understand that it really went around 
once each day for six days, and seven times on the 
seventh day. Speak of the great shout that the 
people made when they marched around the seventh 
time on the seventh day, and have the walls fall, and 
the men all enter the city. 

STORY.— A TRUE SOLDIER. 

" Please come here a minute, Harvey," called his 
mother. 

" In just a minute," came the answer. His mother 
waited a moment, then another, three, four, five, and 
still the boy did not come. 



THE FALL OF JERICHO. l8l 

" Come, Harvey." 

" Yes, mamma, in just a minute." 

When Harvey appeared at Mrs. Curtis's side, his 
mother said, " Will you please go down to the store 
and get some butter?" but she said nothing about 
his delay in coming when she called. 

Harvey started for the store, singing to himself, 
" I 'm a little soldier of the heavenly King." 

When he had done the errand, and again came 
into the room where his mother was, she held out 
a paper soldier's cap and belt, and asked him which 
he thought would make the better gun, a yard-stick 
or the feather duster. 

" O, the feather duster would not do at all. I 
suppose the yard-stick will have to do, but a real 
gun would be so much better. Can I begin playing 
soldier now ? " 

" Yes, you may begin at once ; only I want you 
to act just as real soldiers do. To-night I will ask 
papa to cut you out a gun from wood. How would 
that do ? " 

" O, that would be splendid ! What do soldiers do 
besides march, mamma ? " 

" They have regular drill every day ; then they 
have ' dress parade.' They have to learn to obey 
orders instantly. When the captain gives a com- 
mand, it must be carried out at once. No reasons 
are ever asked ; no waiting is allowed. Just as soon 
as the captain speaks, the thing must be done. Now, 
if you will stand, I will tell you some of the orders 
that are given, and show you how to carry them out. 
Remember that whatever the captain says must be 
done at once." 

Then for ten minutes the room rung with " Carry 
arms," "Right shoulder arms," "Parade rest." 
Harvey enjoyed the drill very much, but after 
ten minutes his mother gave the order, "Break 



1 82 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

ranks, march." He was just going to say, " O, 
please, mamma, why can't we play a little longer ? " 
when he remembered what his mother had said 
about asking no reasons ; and so he kept still. 

" When the drill is over," said Mrs. Curtis, "the 
soldiers are allowed to go where they please and to 
do whatever they like,, if they do not disobey instruc- 
tions. Each soldier knows what are the rules of the 
company, and has to obey them." 

Day after day Harvey and his mother played 
soldier. He drilled once or twice a day, and liked 
it greatly, especially after his father made him the 
wooden gun. Mrs. Curtis told him many stories of 
the bravery and noble deeds of distinguished soldiers, 
and Harvey began to hope that sometime he, too, 
might do some great thing. 

One day, however, he forgot to behave like a 
soldier. When his mother reminded him that he 
had not filled the wood-box that day, he answered : 
" There is wood enough to kindle the fire, and I 
don't see why I have to keep the box full all the 
time. When that is gone, I will get some more 
wood." 

Mrs. Curtis rose, and, taking Harvey by the hand, 
led him to the closet and said, " This is the guard- 
house ; I shall be obliged to place you under guard," 
and, leaving him in the closet, she went back to her 
work. 

Ten minutes later she called Harvey to her, and 
said : " In any army the soldiers are divided into 
companies, over which captains are placed. Each 
soldier must do whatever his captain commands. 
Over the captains are other officers, so that each 
captain must obey the orders of the next higher in 
rank, the colonel. Over the whole army is the gen- 
eral. All in the army obey him. Every soldier 
does just as the general says, but he does not give 



THE FALL OF JERICHO. 1 83 

his orders to each soldier himself. The general 
gives the orders to the officer under him in rank, and 
so on down until the captain tells the soldiers what 
they are to do. Now, would it do for one of the 
soldiers to ask, ' Why should I do this thing in this 
particular way ? ' Perhaps the captain does not know 
why the order has been given. You see it would 
not do. So it is with us. We are soldiers, as you 
like to sing, and Harvey is one of the soldiers in 
mamma's company. She is your captain. She, too, 
has had her directions from her higher officer, from 
the highest officer. Do you know whom I mean ? " 

Harvey went away to his work a very thoughtful 
boy. It was several weeks later when on coming 
into the room unexpectedly he heard his father say : 
" I think Harvey has turned over a new leaf. He 
minds promptly whenever he is spoken to, and never 
asks why." 

" Yes," answered his mother, as she drew the boy 
to her side, " he is becoming a true soldier and a 
brave soldier of the heavenly King." — Child's Hour. 



LESSON XXVIII. 
RUTH, 

" Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." — Ruth i : 16. 

Once in a while comes a time when there is but 
little food. The barley and wheat do not grow, and 
so cannot be made into bread, and the people are 
often hungry. Such a time is called a famine. 
You remember there was famine in Canaan when 
Joseph was in Egypt and his brethren came down 
to buy corn. A number of years afterward there 
was another famine ; and a man named Elimelech, 
with his wife Naomi and their two boys, left Canaan 
and went to Moab, where there was food. They 
lived in Moab a number of years ; their sons grew 
older and married. The name of one of the wives 
was Orpah, and that of the other was Ruth. 

Elimelech and Naomi with their two sons and 
their wives were very happy together ; but Elimelech 
died and the two sons, and Naomi and Ruth and 
Orpah were left alone. Naomi was very lonely in 
this strange land of Moab, so far from her own 
home, and among people who did not love her God ; 
for the people of Moab did not know about God. 
She had been happy even in this strange land, but 
now that the ones she loved so much were gone she 
felt sad. She wished to go back to her own people. 

She told her daughters-in-law that she was going 
to Canaan, bade her friends good-by, and started for 
her own land. Ruth and Orpah set out with her, 

184 




RUTH. 

From a painting hy Brilck-Lajos. 



RUTH. 185 

but after going a little way Naomi bade them return 
to their own homes. She told them that she was 
going to a country and to a people that they did not 
know, and that they had better stay with their own 
friends. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and re- 
turned to her father's house, but Ruth said, "En- 
treat me not to leave thee, and to return from 
following after thee : for whither thou goest, I will 
go ; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge : thy 
people shall be my people, and thy God my God." 
Ruth loved Naomi and wished to be with her. She 
loved God and longed to be with the people who 
knew and worshipped him. She felt that her life 
was better and happier since she had known the true 
God, and she wanted to be with his people. 

Naomi and Ruth went together to Bethlehem, 
where Naomi had lived before she went to Moab. 
They were very poor, and must work to get food to 
eat. When they reached the town, it was harvest 
time. In all the fields the reapers were busy cutting 
the barley and storing it in barns. As Moses had 
commanded, it was the custom to permit the poor to 
go behind the reapers and pick up for themselves 
what was scattered. So Ruth went to the harvest 
field to glean behind the harvesters. 

This field belonged to a man named Boaz who was 
a relative of Naomi. When he saw Ruth in the 
field, he asked one of his young men who she was ; 
and, when he knew that she had come with Naomi, 
he was very kind to her and gave her dinner with 
his maidens and men. He also told his young men 
to let handfuls of the barley fall that she might 
glean them. When Ruth thanked him for his kind- 
ness and asked him why he was so good to her, a 
stranger, he said that it was because she had left her 
people and her gods, and had come to live with them 
and serve the true God. 



1 86 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STOftY. 

The next day Ruth again went to the field belong- 
ing to Boaz, who was even more kind ; he was pleased 
because she carried whatever she had to Naomi. 

After a time Ruth became the wife of Boaz, and 
had a good home and a kind and loving husband. 
She was looked up to and respected by all, as her 
husband was one of the chief men of the place. I 
am sure she did not forget Naomi, but made the 
rest of her life as happy as possible. 

Thus God blessed Ruth because she had chosen 
him and his people. When she had come to Canaan, 
among the people who loved God, she at once re- 
ceived kindness and help. Then she found a good 
home where she was tenderly loved and cared for by 
her husband. She was no longer lonely and sad, 
but her life was bright and full. Besides all this, 
God was her God, and he could give her peace and 
joy such as she could have in no other way. It was 
just as it is with us ; if we try to do God's will, he 
makes us happy as we cannot be if we do not do as 
he wishes. 

One more great blessing God gave to Ruth, — a 
little son whom she called Obed. His grandson was 
David, the sweet singer who wrote such beautiful 
psalms. After a long time David's descendant was 
the little child Jesus, God's own Son, whom he sent 
on earth to help and bless us all. Thus Ruth, 
because she chose God and his people, became the 
mother of a little boy whose son's son way down 
many generations was God's own Son Jesus. 
Happy Ruth to be so blessed by God ! 

MEMORY GEM. 

Little Miss Selfish and Lend-a-Hand 

Went journeying up and down the land. 

On Lend-a-Hand the sunshine smiled, 

The wild flowers bloomed for the happy child, 



RUTH. 187 

Birds greeted her from every tree ; 
But Selfish said, " No one loves me." 

Little Miss Selfish and Lend-a-Hand 
Went journeying home across the land. 
Miss Selfish met with trouble and loss ; 
The weather was bad, the folks were cross ; 
Lend-a-Hand said, when the journey was o'er, 
" I never had such a good time before." 

— Selected. 



OCCUPATION. 

Scatter small bits of straw or tiny sticks over the 
table to represent the barley in the field. Have 
longer sticks or figures represent the men and 
maidens. Allow the children to rake up the straw 
as would the reapers, taking care to leave little hand- 
fuls here and there to be gathered up by another 
child who moves one of the sticks along to represent 
Ruth. Be sure that Ruth carries her barley to the 
house built at one side, which she and Naomi call 
home. 



STORY. — MASTER DON >T - WANT - TO OR 
MISS LOVE -ALL. 

Master All-Right and little Miss Yes-Mamma were 
walking hand in hand down the street, when naughty 
Don't-Want-To tripped them up, and they both fell 
flat on their faces. Up ran Miss Oh-Dear, followed 
by Master Boo-Hoo, and jumped on top of the others. 
A crowd very quickly gathers whenever anything 
unusual occurs on the street, and soon Miss Don't- 
Care and Miss I-Won't were racing to the spot, 
followed by Masters Stop-It and Sha' n't. 

Dirty little street gamins and naughty boys and 
girls were not the only children to hurry to the spot, 



1 88 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

for soon Miss Love- All and Sir I '11-Try came around 
the corner. At sight of them Miss I- Won't hurried 
away with Stop-It and Sha 'n't. Love- All whispered 
something to Don't-Care, who suddenly disappeared 
and in her place stood Please-Excuse-Me. Naughty 
Don't-Want-To, frightened at the result of what he 
had done, quickly slipped away. Smiling-Face and 
Never-Mind came up and carried away Miss Oh-Dear 
and Master Boo-Hoo, so that All-Right and Yes- 
Mamma were left with Love- All and I '11-Try. 

The four walked on down the street until they 
came to a pretty little cottage with a tiny flower- 
garden and a narrow strip of grass in front, and a 
white fence that looked as if it had lately been 
painted, it was so clean and fresh. Indeed, the 
paint was hardly dry, for all the day before Master 
All-Right and Sir I '11-Try had worked in the hot 
sun, moving the paint-brushes up and down the 
pickets of that particular fence ; for you must know 
that this is where Master All-Right lives, and Sir 
I '11-Try is always ready to help in any good work 
that Master All-Right wishes to do. 

The children separated here, and Love-All and 
I '11-Try went down a side street, calling to the 
others as they went, " Let us know any time you 
want us." All-Right turned in at his own gate, and 
Yes-Mamma went on up the hill to her own stately 
home. Her mother met her at the door, and said, 
" Have you had a pleasant time, dear ? " 

Little Miss Yes-Mamma then told all about her 
afternoon's experience. When she had finished, her 
mother said, " I am sorry that my little daughter 
knows so many naughty boys and girls. Now we 
will go and arrange the flowers. Please find little Miss 
Helper. O, here she comes. Now who will pick 
me the pansies ? " continued the mother. 

Before she had finished asking the question, a 



RUTH. 189 

little voice close by asked, " What for ? " while 
another voice as quickly said, " I will." When 
mamma asked for some water for the thirsty little 
flowers, naughty little Why popped up, but Good- 
Little-Girl ran and brought it at once. 

Soon the flowers were all arranged, and mamma 
said that it was time to go to bed, and at once 
naughty Don't- Want-To, who had started all the 
trouble, came back. Mamma looked grieved and 
said, " Where is my Good-Little-Girl ? " 

The Good-Little-Girl did not come, however, and 
at last the mamma had to call Miss Mind to talk 
with her little daughter. Then the Good-Little-Girl 
came again, and when the mother asked whether 
she was ready to go to bed, she cheerfully answered, 
"Yes, mamma." 

Just at this time Master All-Right came in on an 
errand for his mother ; and, as he was not in haste, 
he stayed and listened to the story that the mother 
was ready to tell of the knights of olden time, and 
of how they used to go out to do battle with wicked 
giants and how they overcame their enemies. She 
told them that Don't- Want-To was an enemy, and 
that they both ought to have nothing to do with him. 
They did not need to fight with swords, but they 
ought to shun his company, and they would find it 
hard work to prevent his being with them. 

"It is possible," she said, "to drive him away, so 
that he will never trouble you if you persist in not 
playing with him or having anything to do with him. 
The same is true of the other naughty children 
whose names even I dislike." 

The children then bade each other good night, 
while All-Right ran home and Yes-Mamma went up 
to her room. 

And now can you tell why somebody told you this 
story for this Sunday's lesson ? — Child's Hour, 



LESSON XXIX. 
SAMUEL. 

" Speak, Lord, for thy. servant keareth." — / Sam. j : g. 

There was a woman in Israel who felt very sad 
because she had no children. Her husband was kind 
to her, but she wanted a little son. They lived so 
far from the temple, their church, that they could 
not often go ; but one time when they went she 
prayed to God and asked him to send her a little 
child. She prayed very earnestly, and she promised 
that, if God should send her a son, he should be given 
to the Lord to serve God all his life. The priest in 
the temple who saw her praying so earnestly blessed 
her and she went to her home. 

She no longer was sad, for she felt that her prayer 
would be answered ; and it was. God sent her a 
little son, and she called his name Samuel because, 
she said, she had asked him of God. 

As soon as he was old enough to be away from 
his mother all the time she took him up to the 
temple, and left him with the priest Eli, who was 
then an old man. She was sorry to have her little 
son so far away from her, for she loved him dearly ; 
but she had promised to " lend him to the Lord," 
and she was glad to have him do God's work. 

Samuel helped Eli with all the work of the temple, 
and did just as the priest said. Each year his mother 
made clothing for him, which she carried when she 
came to worship at the temple. The Bible says, 

190 



SAMUEL. 191 

" The child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both 
with the Lord, and also with men." It is always so 
when we try to do what is right ; we not only make 
those about us love us, but we also please God. 

Eli became a very old man, and Samuel took care 
of all the things about the temple. One night, after 
he had gone to bed as usual, Samuel distinctly heard 
some one call him. He ran to Eli, as he thought it 
must be that he wanted him, and said, " Here am I ; 
for thou calledst me." The priest said, " I called 
not ; lie down -again." Samuel obeyed ; but soon 
the same voice called again, " Samuel," and he ran 
back to Eli and said, " Here am I ; for thou calledst 
me." Then Eli understood that God must have 
called little Samuel, so he said, " Go, lie down : and 
it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, 
Lord ; for thy servant heareth." 

He went back to his little bed as Eli had com- 
manded, and soon he heard the voice as before, 
" Samuel, Samuel " ; and then he answered as Eli 
told him, " Speak ; for thy servant heareth." 

Think of this little boy, Samuel, so far away from 
his father and mother, living with an old man whose 
heart was sad because the people of God did wrong. 
Now God called in the night to him, and said, " Sam- 
uel, Samuel." The little boy was not afraid, but 
answered, " Speak ; for thy servant heareth." When 
you pray, you speak to God just as much as Samuel 
did then. It is just as solemn, and you are just as 
really talking to him as little Samuel was. 

Then God told Samuel that he knew how wicked 
some of the people had become, and that he must 
punish them. Even the sons of Eli, the priest, did 
wrong things and must suffer. 

In the morning Eli asked Samuel what it was that 
God had said to him. At first Samuel did not wish 
to say, because he knew it would make Eli feel sad 



I92 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

to know how wicked his sons were and that they 
must be punished. But, when Eli asked him to tell 
all that God had said, Samuel did as Eli wished. 
Then Eli answered, " It is the Lord : let him do what 
seemeth him good." It was very hard for Eli, be- 
cause he loved his sons. It always makes fathers 
and mothers sad when their boys or girls do wrong. 
But Eli knew that whatever God did was right. Do 
you not think that he was glad to have little Samuel 
with him and still more glad that Samuel tried to do 
just as God wished ? 

When Samuel grew older, he became God's 
prophet ; that means that God often talked with 
him and told him what he wanted him to do and 
what he wished the people to do. Samuel tried to 
have the people do right, to do just what would 
please God. 

Samuel was greatly blessed because he knew God, 
and often talked with him and tried to please him 
always. His mother Hannah was also very happy 
because God had so blessed her son, her little 
Samuel. 

MEMORY GEM. 

Now the light has gone away, 
Saviour, listen while I pray, 
Asking thee to watch and keep, 
And to send me quiet sleep. 

— From the German. 



OCCUPATION. 

Build with the blocks the temple with the courts 
around it. In one of these place the two pallets, one 
for the bed of Eli, and one for that of Samuel. Let 
the figure that represents Samuel go over to the 



SAMUEL. 193 

other bed to answer the call, but make the point 
clear to the children that it was God who called. 



STORY. — MARY'S DAILY BREAD. 

A little girl and her mother lived alone in one 
room at the top of a house. You would not have 
cared to live there ; for there were no playthings, no 
comfortable chairs, and no beautiful pictures about 
the room. The room was very bare. The little 
girl's mother was sick, and she could not work to 
earn money, and the father was far away. It was 
morning, and little Mary had dressed herself. Then 
she knelt down by the bedside, and said slowly, 
" Give us this day our daily bread." She knew what 
that meant, for the night before she had gone to bed 
without any supper. 

After she had prayed she went into the street and 
began to wonder where God kept his bread. She 
looked up to the sky, and wondered whether he would 
drop it down to her. She looked at the trees in a 
tiny park two streets away, and wished the bread 
grew upon them. 

Finally she turned around the corner, and saw a 
large, well-filled baker's shop. Mary looked into the 
window ; and, seeing the loaves of bread, she thought 
to herself, "This is the place." 

So she entered confidently, and said to the big 
baker, "I have come for it." 

"Come for it ? what do you mean ? " 

" Come for my daily bread. I'll take two, one for 
mother and one for me," and she pointed to the large 
loaves of fresh bread. 

" All right," said the baker, putting them in a bag 
and handing them to her. 

Mary started at once for the street, when he 
called, " Come back here ; where is your money ? " 



194 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

" I have n't any," she said. 

" Have n't any money ? " he repeated ; " then why 
do you come for the bread ? " 

The little girl was frightened, and burst into tears, 
and said : " My mother is sick and I am hungry. In 
my prayer I said, ' Give us this day our daily bread,' 
and then I thought God meant me to get it, and so 
I came here." 

The rough but kind-hearted baker was touched by 
the child's simple tale, and instead of chiding her he 
asked her about her mother and how long she had 
been ill. Then, filling a large basket with bread and 
other food, he said, " You dear child, take this to 
your mother, and when you need more come to me." 



LESSON XXX. 
SAUL AND DAVID. 

"■David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was 
refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.''' — 
/ Sam. 1 6 : 23. 

The children of Israel wished for a king such as 
the other nations about them had. They asked 
Samuel to give them a king. Samuel knew that it 
was much better for them to obey God than to have 
a man reign over them. God had brought them out 
of Egypt, had taken care of them in the wilderness, 
had given them food and water, and had finally 
brought them into the promised land. 

God told Samuel to do as the people wished, but 
to tell them that they would not be as happy with a 
king as they were when God led them. God told 
Samuel to make Saul their king. Now Saul was 
very tall and fine-looking, and the people were 
pleased to have him for their king ; but they soon 
found that Saul could not conquer their enemies as 
God had done, and that he was not so kind to them. 

After a time Saul began to do wrong. He did 
not do what would please God. The king's servants 
suggested that they should find some one who could 
play beautifully upon the harp, and that, whenever 
Saul felt unhappy and wicked thoughts came to 
him, the player should bring his harp and play soft, 
sweet music to drive away the bad feelings. Saul 
was pleased with this plan, and told his servants to 
find some one who could do this. 

J 95 



I96 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

In the little town of Bethlehem lived a lad who 
tended his father's sheep. He went with them to 
the meadows where the sweet green grass grew that 
the sheep loved to eat. He watched over them that 
no harm should come to them. He was not afraid 
of any wild animal, and would allow nothing to hurt 
his flocks. When the grass was all eaten in one 
place, he would lead them to another pasture where 
they would find plenty more. If one of the little 
lambs grew tired, he would tenderly take it up in his 
arms and carry it. When the sheep were thirsty, he 
led them to water. He carefully watched them to 
see that no one of them strayed away from the rest 
and was lost. This boy was the great-grandson of 
Ruth, the Moabitess, who chose to live with God's 
people ; and his name was David. He loved music, 
and often played to himself as he wandered along the 
banks of the river with his sheep. He wrote beauti- 
ful poetry, and loved all the wonderful things about 
him that God had made. He had been taught to love 
his country and his own people with a deep love, but 
to love God most of all. 

So David, while he led his sheep through sweet 
fields, thought much about these things. He would 
sing with his voice, and softly touch his harp with 
his fingers. 

One day a messenger from Saul the king came to 
his father Jesse and asked him to send David that 
he might play the harp for King Saul. 

David left his home with its beautiful pastures, its 
feeding flocks and quiet peacefulness, and went to 
the king's palace. David played the harp for Saul 
until it soothed and comforted him and he felt better 
and happier. David also was glad because he could 
help the king and because he was pleasing God. 

Thus, whenever Saul was troubled and the evil 
thoughts came to him, then " David took the harp 



SAUL AND DAVID. 1 97 

and played with his hand ; so Saul was refreshed, 
and was well." 

Do you think children have any gifts that they can 
use to help others feel better, or to give pleasure to 
those about them ? 



MEMORY GEM. 

God make my life a little song 

That comforteth the sad ; 
That helpeth others to be strong 

And makes the singer glad. 

— M. Bentham-Edwards. 



OCCUPATION. 

Make Saul's camp at one side of the table, using 
any rich or beautiful things to typify the abode of 
the king. At the other side of the table have David 
tending his sheep. This may be more or less 
elaborate as the teacher chooses. The grass may 
be represented, or the pool of water by which the 
sheep are feeding, or the sheep and shepherd alone 
may be used. The messenger should be sent from 
the king to Bethlehem and return with David. Show 
the children a picture of an old harp. 



STORY. — THE BIRD AND THE SMILE. 

Florence and May were lying together on the 
grass late one warm afternoon in June. The fields 
were full of white and gold daisies. The air was 
sweet with the scent of clover. The bees hummed 
drowsily as they flitted from blossom to blossom 
gathering their last loads before going to bed. The 
birds were beginning to sing their evening songs 
of thanksgiving. Both little girls were hot and 



1 98 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

tired, and lay quietly looking at the flowers' faces 
around them or up into the beautiful blue sky above, 
as they listened to the sweet songs. 

At last Florence said, " I wish I had a bird of my 
own ; then I could hear him sing all the time." 

As Florence spoke, she heard the sweetest, most 
musical laugh, almost like the trill of a bird, and 
quickly looked up to see where it came from. 

May also looked, and saw a little fay dressed in a 
robe of white that shone and sparkled in the sun- 
light with all the colors of the rainbow ; but she 
hardly glanced at the dress, for the face was so 
much more beautiful. Although the fay was small, 
May saw the deep, clear eyes that looked full of love 
and truth, the firm, sweet mouth that she longed to 
hear speak again. Better than all this was the pleas- 
ant smile that made May grow glad and happy as she 
looked into the joyous face. 

" I will give you a bird for your own, if you will 
always treat it well," said the fay. 

" O, I will ! I will ! I won't forget to give it food 
and water, and I will be so kind to it." 

" My bird needs no seed nor any drink ; but you 
will need to help it each day, for I shall put it in your 
own throat. If you listen to the birds about you and 
try to sing as they do, the bird in your throat will 
learn to trill and warble as they do ; but you must 
not get tired of practising." 

"I will try not to," soberly answered Florence, 
for she remembered that sometimes she fretted when 
her mother wished her to learn a new tune. 

"One more thing you must remember," continued 
the fay. " If you try to give pleasure with your bird, 
it will grow strong and learn to sing more sweetly ; 
but, if you do not try to use it to make others happy, 
the bird's song will not be as beautiful and he can- 
not sing as loud." 



SAUL AND DAVID. 1 99 

May had been listening all this time and watch- 
ing the fay's lovely face. Then she said, " Will 
you give me a bird also, that I, too, may make 
others happy ? " 

" Your lips can give pleasure if you always say 
kind things, but my special gift to you shall be a 
'sunshine smile.' You will need to be careful of 
it as your sister of her bird. If you frown or look 
cross, the smile cannot be as bright. But, if you 
try to make all about you glad, then the sunshine 
will grow in your face." 

Before the children could thank the kind fay she 
was gone, and they sat looking at each other. May 
seemed so happy and her smile was so much like 
sunshine that Florence began to sing a song so 
sweet that their mother's tired face brightened as 
she told the children it was time to come into the 
house. 

There were times when Florence grew weary of 
the routine of practice, or did not always use the 
bird to make others happy ; then her throat felt as 
if the bird had become a lump that hurt her and 
made her feel like crying. But, when she tried to 
please others, then the bird seemed to sing and 
warble for very joy. 

The more May used the " sunshine smile," the 
sweeter it grew and the happier May became. 



LESSON XXXI. 

DAVID AND JONATHAN. 

" Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell 
together in unity ! " — Ps. ijj : i. 

Saul took David to his own house to live, and 
David spent all his time with Saul instead of going 
to Bethlehem to his father's house. Saul had a son 
named Jonathan, and he and David were together a 
great deal and loved each other. They were like 
two brothers ; only they never quarrelled. I think 
that Jonathan must have loved to hear David play 
the harp and that he was very proud of his friend. 
They often went to walk together and loved to talk 
with each other. It says in the Bible, "The soul 
of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and 
Jonathan loved him as his own soul." 

Jonathan and David made a covenant because they 
loved each other so much. They promised to be 
kind to each other always and to try to help each 
other. Then Jonathan, the king's son, gave David 
his bow and arrows, his sword and girdle and fine 
clothes. 

David did whatever Saul said, and tried to please 
him ; and the Bible says he " behaved himself wisely." 
God was pleased with David, and the people praised 
him. But Saul did not like to have the people praise 
David. He wanted them to praise him. He did not 
do right, and so was not happy. He knew he was 
not doing what God wished, and so he felt cross 
toward David. When Jonathan found that his father 



DAVID AND JONATHAN. 201 

no longer loved David, he went to David because he 
loved him so much ; he told him how his father felt 
and that he was afraid that his father might do him 
some harm. So David stayed away, and Jonathan 
went to his father Saul and told him how much he 
loved David, how kind and good David had been, and 
how much he had done for them. Then Saul no 
longer felt angry, and David went again to Saul's 
house and played for him on his harp. David and 
Jonathan loved each other more than ever. 

After a time Saul again felt angry and was no 
longer kind to David. He knew that David did 
what was right and pleased God, and that he himself 
did not do right and God was not pleased with him. 
Instead of trying to do better, he grew more angry 
because David did right. It is often true that, if we 
do wrong ourselves, we do not like to see others do 
right. It is because our own hearts are wicked. 

Thus David again went away from Saul, and was 
with Samuel, the Lord's prophet, for some time. One 
day he was talking with Jonathan, and he asked him 
why Saul no longer loved him. Jonathan could not 
see how any one could help loving David, and he did 
not think his father would try to hurt David ; but 
he said he would try to find out. He told David 
that he would come out into the field in three days 
and shoot arrows ; if he called to the boy who was 
with him, "The arrows are on this side of you," 
then David would know that Saul was no longer 
angry ; but, if he called, " The arrows are beyond 
you," David would know that he must go away. 

Then Jonathan went to his home and talked with 
Saul his father, and he found that Saul did not love 
David and that he felt wicked enough to hurt him 
even. On the third day, Jonathan took his arrows, 
and with a boy went out into the field and began 
shooting. When the boy ran to find an arrow, 



202 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

Jonathan called and said, " Is not the arrow beyond 
thee ? " Then David knew that Saul was angry 
with him, and he went away and Jonathan went back 
to the city to his father's house. 

MEMORY GEM. 

I 'm sorry he 's naughty, and will not play ; 
But I '11 love him still, for I think the way 
To make him gentle and kind to me 
Will be better shown if I let him see 
I strive to do what I think is right ; 
And thus when I kneel in prayer to-night, 
I will clasp my hands around my brother, 
And say, " Little children, love one another." 

OCCUPATION. 

Illustrate simply the shooting of the arrows in the 
field. Explain this so that the children will under- 
stand how this showed David whether or not Saul 
was angry with him. Place the stick that represents 
David behind a stone. Let Jonathan and the lad 
with the arrows come from the city (which can be 
built or not as desired), and let one of the children 
make the lad walk along as another throws a straw 
ahead of him for the arrow. Then let the lad go 
back to the city while David and Jonathan walk 
together. 

Make the friendship of David and Jonathan promi- 
nent, and let Saul's enmity be in the background as 
much as possible. 



STORY.— SPOT, SMUT, AND SLY. 

Mamma Evans was busy in the kitchen when she 
heard loud voices in the nursery and then a cry. 
Leaving her work, she slipped up-stairs to the nur- 



DAVID AND JONATHAN. 20$ 

sery, and, seeing by the children's faces that there 
had been trouble, she asked no questions, but drew 
all three close to her and began to tell them a story 
of some little kittens. 

" Kitty Gray had three little kittens, and Fred 
and May named them Spot, Smut, and Sly. Spot 
was all white except just one bit of black under her 
nose. Smut was black all over. Sly was black and 
white. The children thought them the cutest, pretti- 
est little kittens that ever were. They played with 
them whenever they could ; but, as both Fred and 
May went to school, there were long hours when the 
kittens did not see them. 

" One day when the .kittens were very small and 
had just got their eyes open, Kitty Gray told them 
that she must go away for a little while and leave 
them all alone, and that they must be sure to stay 
close to the box where they slept. The kittens soon 
tired of staying in the box, and began to play around. 
At first they kept close to the box, but after a little 
Spot was chasing Sly, and he forgot and ran too 
near the stairs, and down he fell, heels over head. 
Spot ran to Smut, crying, ' O ! what shall we do ? ' 
But Kitty Gray was not far off, and she soon picked 
up Sly and brought him up-stairs, and began to lick 
his fur and gently wash him all over. She did not 
scold, as she felt that he had received punishment 
enough from his fall. Very soon Spot and Sly could 
run up and down stairs for themselves ; but, as Smut 
was not strong, he was left alone much of the time, 
while the other kittens played outdoors in the bright, 
warm sunshine. 

" One day Kitty Gray carried Smut down to the 
open door of the barn, and let him lie there where 
he could watch Spot and Sly playing outside. They 
were playing tag, chasing each other round and 
round, and sometimes Sly would catch Spot's tail 



264 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

and give it a little bite. At last he bit so hard that 
Spot ran into the barn and hid. Then Sly began to 
tease Smut, and say, ' Come out and play with me ; 
it is lovely outdoors.' Smut started after, and then 
Sly would dodge out of sight. When Smut was 
tired of looking for Sly and started back toward the 
barn, Sly would bound out from behind some bush 
and roll Smut over and over until he was out of 
breath. By this time they were some little distance 
from the barn ; and, when a sharp bark came from 
round the corner, Smut was so tired and frightened 
that he could not run to the barn, but had to climb a 
tree that was near by. Sly, however, left Smut to 
look out for himself and scampered to the barn, 
where he quickly hid. Poor Smut was greatly fright- 
ened and clung to the tree shaking with fear. The 
dog stood under the tree and barked and barked. 

" At last Kitty Gray came home ; and, seeing 
Smut up the tree trembling with fright, she made a 
bold rush at the dog, who, being a real coward, put 
his tail between his legs and ran away. Kitty Gray 
then ran up the tree and brought poor Smut down. 
After this Smut had to stay for several days in the 
box where the kittens slept. 

" Before Smut was well enough to go down-stairs 
again, Kitty Gray took Sly and Spot off to one corner 
and talked to them. She told them how sorry she 
was that they could not play together pleasantly, 
and that they were not more kind to Smut, who was 
not strong enough to do as they did. 

" ' It is not Spot's fault,' said Sly ; ' I was the 
one who got Smut way off by the tree, I did not 
think. I plagued Spot so that she ran away, and 
then I wanted some one to play with me, and led 
Smut so far away from the barn that he could not 
run back when the dog came.' 

" ' I am glad that you do not let Spot be blamed 



DAVID AND JONATHAN. 205 

if it is not her fault,' answered Kitty Gray ; ' but I 
want you to remember that no kitty will like you if 
you are thoughtless or unkind or rough. Who likes 
a kitty when she does so ? No kitty, no kitty, no 
kitty, no.' 

" The next day Smut was able to go down and lie 
in the sun close to the barn door, and Spot and Sly 
tried to see which could do the funniest things to 
make Smut laugh. Smut then began to' grow strong, 
and soon he could play with other kittens. Never 
again did Kitty Gray have to tell her kittens the 
verse, ' Who likes a kitty when she does so ? No 
kitty, no kitty, no kitty, no.' " 

As Mamma Evans finished telling the story, Frank 
said : " Mamma, I am afraid I was like Sly. I would 
not play fair with Helen, and I plagued baby. What 
would the verse be for me ? " 

"Who likes him when he does so? Nobody, 
nobody, nobody, no," answered Mamma Evans. 
Frank laid his head down in his mother's lap and 
tried not to cry, for he thought he was too big a boy 
to do that. Baby came toddling over the floor and 
put her little hand on Frank's head and said, " I love 
00, I love 00, I love 00, 00." 

At this Frank lifted up his head, and said, " That 
is much nicer than the other verse. I will try to 
make her and all the rest love me all the time after 
this." 

Mamma Evans went back to her work, feeling 
that she should not be called up-stairs again to the 
children. — Child's Hour. 



LESSON XXXII. 
THE SHEPHERD PSALM. 

" He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather the lambs 
in his arm, and carry them in his bosom." — Isa. 40 : 11. 

We have talked about the boy David who played 
so sweetly upon the harp for King Saul, and about 
his love for Jonathan, the king's son. To-day we 
wish to learn something of the beautiful songs he 
sung. When David was older, he wrote many songs 
that we call psalms, and the people of Israel used to 
sing them. 

Do you remember that, when Saul's messenger 
went to Bethlehem to ask David to go to the king's 
home and play for him, David was away with the 
sheep, caring for them ? When he was a boy, David 
spent much of his time taking care of the flocks. 
Day after day he watched over them that no harm 
should come to them. He knew and cared for each 
particular one, and his sheep all knew and loved him. 
They would follow wherever he led them. He was 
a good shepherd, and he had spent many happy hours 
with his sheep. He knew so much about the sheep 
and their life that when he - came to write songs 
for the people, when he wanted to praise God, was it 
any wonder that he thought of the sheep and their 
shepherd ? 

When he had been a shepherd boy, he had taken 
good care of the sheep, and he knew what it meant 
to tend the sheep carefully. Now he wanted to 
thank God for watching over his life ; so he said, 

206 




THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 

From a painting by B. Plockhorst. 



THE SHEPHERD PSALM. 207 

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." 
David led the sheep to the land that was covered 
with sweet, green grass, and the sheep could eat or 
lie down and rest as they chose. He led them to 
the stream that they might drink the clear, cool, 
running water. Thus David sung of his shepherd, 
the Lord, " He maketh me to lie down in green pas- 
tures ; he leadeth me beside the still waters." He 
said this because God had given him just what was 
best for him, as the shepherd does for his sheep. 

Then David said, " He restoreth my soul." He 
meant that, when he felt sad, God had made him feel 
glad again. God showed him how to do what was 
right. If you were out for a walk, and did not know 
which path to take, and some one showed you which 
way to go, how glad you would be ! We want to go 
in the path toward God, the right path. David 
called it the path of righteousness, and he said, 
" He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for 
his name's sake." 

When the shepherd is leading his sheep to pasture, 
they sometimes come to a bad place, where it is 
rough and there are briers that hurt the sheep. 
Then the shepherd takes the best of care of his 
sheep ; he holds the long crook that he carries in 
his hand so that it will hold back the prickly bushes 
and the sheep can go by without being hurt. The 
shepherd talks to his sheep so that they will not be 
afraid. Thus David said, "Yea, though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear 
no evil ; for thou art with me : thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me." Even when he had hard things 
to do, God helped him just as the shepherd helps 
the sheep with his staff by holding back the briers. 

When people come to visit us, we try to give them 
the best things to eat that we can ; we try to do 
whatever is possible to please them. David said, 



208 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

" Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of 
mine enemies : thou hast anointed my head with oil" ; 
this was one way in which the people showed that 
they cared for one another. " My cup runneth over." 
It was as if God had made his life so happy that it 
was like a cup filled so full that it ran over. God 
had blessed him so much that he said, " Surely good- 
ness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my 
life : and I will dwell in the house of the Lord 
forever." Could we have a better place to live than 
with God in his house ? Thus David sung of God, 
his shepherd. 

He is also our shepherd, and we all are like sheep 
whom he cares for most tenderly all the time. He 
fills our cups of joy full to overflowing ; he leads us in 
good paths through a beautiful country ; and, best of 
all, he never leaves us, but is always close by, watch- 
ing over us that no harm shall come to us. We 
cannot see him, but he sees us and knows whatever 
we do. He is our loving shepherd. 

MEMORY GEM. 

We read in the wonderful story, 

So sweetly and tenderly told, 
How Jesus the Shepherd came seeking 

The lambs that were lost from his fold. 
And we who would share in his glory 

Must follow his footsteps below ; 
Must comfort the poor and the needy, 

The little bare feet in the snow. 

OCCUPATION. 

There is a card upon which is printed the Shepherd 
Psalm and pictures of the green pastures and flowing 
brook. This card is so arranged that it can be cut 
into ten pieces, which the children put together to 
make the complete card. 



THE SHEPHERD PSALM. 209 

STORY. — THE LOST SHEEP. 

There were ninety and nine that safely lay 

In the shelter of the fold, 
But one was out on the hills away, 

Far off from the gates of gold — 
Away on the mountains wild and bare, 
Away from the tender Shepherd's care. 

" Lord, thou hast here thy ninety and nine : 

Are they not enough for thee ? " 
But the Shepherd made answer : " This of mine 

Has wandered away from me, 
And, although the road be rough and steep, 
I go to the desert to find my sheep." 

But none of the ransomed ever knew 
How deep were the waters crossed ; 

Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed 
through, 
Ere he found his sheep that was lost. 

Out in the desert he heard its cry — 

Sick and helpless, and ready to die. 

" Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way 
That mark out the mountain's track ? " 

" They were shed for one who had gone astray 
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back." 

" Lord, whence are thy hands so rent and torn ? " 

"They are pierced to-night by many a thorn." 

But all through the mountains, thunder-riven, 

And up from the rocky steep, 
There rose a cry to the gate of heaven, 

" Rejoice ! I have found my sheep ! " 
And the angels echoed around the throne, 
" Rejoice, for the Lord brings back his own ! " 

— E. C. Clephane. 



LESSON XXXIII. 
SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. 

" I purpose to build an hottse for the name of the Lord my God." 
— I Kings 5:5. 

King Saul did not do what was right. He was 
not a good king. The people had wanted a man for 
their king, but they were not happy with him. God 
then gave them another. He made David, the sweet 
singer, king in place of Saul. David did many good 
things for his people, and tried to please God. He 
wished to build a house for God, and spent much 
time in getting beautiful and rich things together for 
the temple. Ever since the time of Samuel the peo- 
ple had been giving gold and precious things to help 
make a beautiful temple for God. David could not 
build it, however, for God had other work for him 
to do. 

After David's death his son Solomon became king, 
and he went to work to have the temple built at once. 
He wished to have the finest wood for the temple, 
and he wished to have the wood cut in the very best 
way. He send word to Hiram, the king of Tyre, 
who had loved his father David and would help him, 
and Solomon asked him to have his men cut some of 
the beautiful cedar-trees which grew in his country, 
for the workmen of Tyre knew how. 

Great blocks of white limestone were taken out of 
the quarries and cut into the right shapes to build 
the foundation. Solomon had a great army of work- 
men to build the temple, yet it was seven years before 

21Q 



SOLOMONS TEMPLE. 211 

it was finished. It was to be the most splendid build- 
ing in the world. Everything was made ready before 
being taken to the place where the temple was to be 
built. Then it could all be put together very quietly, 
and no noise of either hammer or axe was heard where 
the temple was to stand. It was all built in sacred 
silence. 

The temple was on a mount. It was a beautiful 
spot upon which to have the house of God. The top 
of the mount was smoothed off to make a place for 
the great temple, and it stood so high as to be seen 
by all. 

Let us think of the great white stones, all cut and 
shaped beforehand, as they are silently swung into 
place to build the strong foundation. Stone upon 
stone the building rises, till high above the city it 
stands, a beautiful temple of snow-white stone and 
glittering gold that sparkles and shines in the bright 
sunlight. 

The inside of the magnificent temple was made of 
beautiful cedar-wood, or red sandalwood, and then 
covered with gold. This was not a thin wash of gold, 
but thick plates of gold fastened on with gold nails. 
The walls and doors were carved to look like palms, 
cherubim, and flowers, and then covered with gold. 

The very best of everything the people had or 
could get from other places was used in the temple. 
Every part was made perfect and beautiful, whether 
it would show or not, because it was God's house. 
The people not only gave their best things, but even 
gave what they would have liked to keep for them- 
selves. Nothing was too good to give for God's- 
temple. 

The temple was built, as was the tabernacle in the 
wilderness, with a holy place and the holy of holies. 
The beautiful vessels of gold and silver were placed 
inside, and in the holy of holies was the same ark, 



212 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

with the tables of stone upon which were written the 
ten commandments, that was in the tabernacle. Not 
only was the temple as beautiful and fine as it could 
be made, but also everything that was placed inside 
was of the best. Do you not think that we ought 
to give our best to God ? Do you not think that 
our churches, the places we build for God's house, 
should be as perfect and beautiful, clean and holy, as 
possible ? 

The Bible says, " Know ye not that ye are a temple 
of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? " 
That means that God is in our hearts, he lives with 
us, and we ought to make ourselves as good and pure 
as possible. We are like the temple where God 
lives ; and our lips are to say only good and pure 
words, our hands are to do only kind and loving 
deeds, our minds to think only pure and holy thoughts, 
our hearts to love only good things. If we make our 
temples, that is, ourselves, as sweet and good and 
pure as possible, then God will love to stay with us 
and help us. Let us work hard to make ourselves fit 
to be his temples. 

MEMORY GEM. 

Help us, Lord, to love thee more 

Than we ever loved before ; 
In our work and in our play 

Be thou with us through the day. 

OCCUPATION. 

Let the children build the temple. Illustrate the 
silent placing of the great blocks of stone, the cover- 
ing with gold of the interior, etc. Then have ready 
slips of paper the size of the blocks used to build the 
temple, upon which shall be written the names of 
the qualities which will help us to make ourselves fit 



SOLOMONS TEMPLE. 213 

temples for God to dwell in. Draw from the chil- 
dren, as far as possible, their idea of what will make 
the character good and beautiful as God desires. 
Write these upon the slips of paper, — unselfishness, 
obedience, love, reverence, etc. ; place the slips upon 
the blocks that are the foundation of the temple. 



STORY. — JOE'S LILY. 

Joe had been saving his pennies since Christmas 
time. The boys in Miss Davis's Sunday-school class 
wanted to buy flowers for the church for Easter. 
This was not grand and beautiful as were some of 
the churches, but was plain and bare. The boys 
thought that, if they had" some flowers, the room would 
look better. Each boy wished to buy the best flowers 
he could, but they were poor and had few pennies. 
Most of the boys earned all the money they had, and 
many of them helped pay for the poor rooms they 
called home. Some sold newspapers ; Joe earned 
his money by blacking boots. 

Three weeks before Easter, Joe counted his money 
and went to the florist's to see what flowers could be 
bought for the sum he had saved. He had set his 
heart upon having one of the beautiful Easter lilies, 
but he found that he had not nearly enough to buy 
so costly a flower. The next day he did not buy him- 
self a dinner, but had only a glass of milk. The place 
where he had his blacking-box was so far away that 
he could not go to his own home for dinner. Each 
day he took only the glass of milk at noon. The day 
before Easter he found that he had just enough money 
to buy the coveted lily. 

The other boys had also worked hard for their 
flowers. One had bought hyacinths, another some 
white pinks, while one of the boys had some callas. 
Miss Davis had once told the boys that white meant 



214 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

pure and clean, and they felt that nothing but white 
flowers was good enough. 

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day, and Joe and 
the other boys were up very early. They had many 
things to do before they could go to the church. 
They wanted to carry their flowers early, so that 
Miss Davis might have time to arrange them prettily. 
They were so early that even Miss Davis had not 
come. As she came into the door and saw the beau- 
tiful white flowers, a sunny smile came to her face 
that made the boys very happy. She knew they had 
been trying to buy some flowers, but had not thought 
that they would be able to get so many or so lovely 
ones. She knew that the boys were poor and that 
they must have given up many things to buy the 
flowers. She was so pleased she hardly knew what 
to say to them ; but it made no difference, for they 
knew from her face that she was glad. 

" Do you think they are good enough, Miss Davis ? " 
asked Joe. 

" Yes indeed ! They are beautiful ; nothing could 
be sweeter to bring to God's house. The flowers 
that God made cannot be better used than to make 
his house fragrant." 

"I wanted to buy white roses," said Tom, "but 
they cost too much." And he looked fondly at the 
hyacinths he had brought. 

"These are just as good," answered Miss Davis, 
" and I am sure that God will be pleased because you 
have tried so hard to get the best for him. When 
we give up our own things for him, we are like Jesus. 
These hyacinths are as pure and lovely as any roses 
could be, and much sweeter." 

" I bought my lily early yesterday morning, Miss 
Davis, so I could take it home for Nell to look at 
through the day. I was afraid it might wither, but I 
did want her to have a little bit of it," continued Joe. 



Solomons temple. 215 

u After the service is all over, I hope you boys will 
take the flowers to some of your friends." 

" Can we take some to Pete ? You know he has 
been sick most a month," said Tom. 

" That would be a good plan. It always seems to 
me as though the flowers should go to those who 
have to lie still in bed. I wonder why you all brought 
white flowers," asked Miss Davis. 

" O, because you said they were so pure and clean, 
and we see so much that is dirty that we wanted the 
cleanest thing we could find." 

" Do you know that these flowers can be a part of 
you, boys ? Do you know that you can be like these 
white lilies ? When you look at the flower, can you 
think of its saying anything wrong ? If you let no 
naughty words come from your lips, they will be like 
the petals of the flower pure and clean. The flower 
brings joy and pleasure to those about it. You can 
do kind little acts which will please others. Even the 
stem of the flower, looking so smooth and green, 
makes one think of the woods and running brooks 
and dancing sunlight. If your faces always carry a 
smile, people will be glad to see you come into the 
room. Just one thing more. Look down into the 
heart of this lily. See the golden little stamens. 
Your hearts can be golden if you think only good 
thoughts." 



LESSON XXXIV. 

SOLOMON'S PROVERBS, 

" A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches" — Prov. 22: 1. 

A short time after Solomon became king, before 
he had built the great temple, he went to Gibeon to 
pray to God and to worship him. In the night God 
appeared to him in a vision, and said, "Ask what 
I shall give thee." What would Solomon ask ? 
Would it be that he might be king a long time, that 
he might be very rich, that he might always be happy, 
that his enemies should not fight against him, or that 
he should be loved by all the people ? Solomon did 
not ask for any of these things. 

He prayed that God would give him wisdom that 
he might know how to do right in all things ; that 
he might know what to do for the great nation, the 
children of Israel, over whom he was the king. Sol- 
omon's choice pleased God greatly. It was the best 
thing he could have asked for, to know how to do what 
was right in God's eyes. Then the Lord promised 
to grant his wish, and said that he should also have 
riches and honor, and a long life besides, and that 
God would make him more famous than any king 
that had ever lived. 

God did as he promised, and made Solomon very 
wise. He is said to have been the wisest man who 
ever lived, and because he was so wise he wrote 
many things to teach the people. These sayings are 
called proverbs, and are just as much of a help to 
you and me now as they were to the children of 

216 



SOLOMON S PROVERBS. 2 I 7 

Israel, for whom they were written. Solomon tells 
the children that they should not forget God's laws 
and that they should keep his commandments. 

One of his proverbs I wish to tell you about to-day. 
Let us think carefully and see whether we can under- 
stand it. "A good name is rather to be chosen than 
great riches." To have a " good name " means to be 
thought well of by others, to be liked by them, to 
be kind and unselfish and loving so that those about 
us shall be glad when we are with them. Solomon 
says that this is rather to be chosen than great riches, 
that it is better than to have lots of money. 

Now money is a good thing to have if it is rightly 
used. We need it to buy clothes and food, to pay 
for houses that shall protect us from the rain and 
snow, to help others, and to send people to the chil- 
dren who do not know about Jesus and to tell them 
of his love. But some people think more about get- 
ting money than about anything else ; some people 
think more of their beautiful homes than of what is 
right ; some people care more to do what other peo- 
ple do than to please God ; and they are all wrong. 

God knows everything that we do, whether any 
one else sees or not ; he knows all our thoughts ; he 
knows whether we feel kind and loving to those 
about us, or whether we have naughty thoughts in 
our hearts. If we really have a "good name," we 
shall please God. He will know whether we are 
doing the best we can at all times, whether or not 
we do what is right when no one sees us. 

We may do something when mamma or teacher 
is out of the room and we think that no one sees, but 
God knows and we have not a "good name." We 
may think naughty thoughts, or feel ugly and selfish 
as if we would like to do something wrong ; yet, if 
we do not do the wrong thing, mamma may not know 
of the bad thoughts, but God does. Let us try to 



2l8 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

live so that God shall look into our hearts, into our 
thoughts, and see that all is right ; then he will give 
us a "good name." 

MEMORY GEM. 

Beautiful eyes are those that show, 

Like crystal panes where the hearth-fires glow, 

Beautiful thoughts that burn below. 



OCCUPATION. 

Have drawn on one side of the blackboard a child's 
face, one that is sweet and good. On the other side 
of the board have a drawing of the same face with 
an ugly frown that shows the naughty temper within. 
The child may not appear to be naughty as mamma 
looks at him ; but, if she could look into his heart 
as God can, she would see the picture upon the other 
side of the board. 



STORY. — THOUGHT ECHOES. 

A long time ago, when this earth was first made, 
there were a great many Echo Elves. They loved 
the rocky hills and the quiet lakes ; they clung to 
every crevice and point of rock. They were always 
listening and watching for sounds ; and, when they 
heard one, they repeated it again and again. Some- 
times they trilled the last notes of a bird's song ; 
sometimes they answered the monkey's chatter ; and 
sometimes they thundered as the ocean beat against 
the rocks. 

Then there were elves who caught up the thoughts 
that were floating around. When the squirrel, frisk- 
ing about, found a sweet nut and lifted his head in 
thankfulness to God, the Thought Echoes repeated 



SOLOMONS PROVERBS. 219 

again and again the thanks of the squirrel. When 
the flowers lifted their faces to the welcome dew and 
smiled in their gladness, then the Thought Elves 
echoed the happy song till all around joined in it. 
The Echo Elves never tired of their play. They 
loved to repeat the sweet sounds they heard, or the 
lovely thoughts. 

After a long time people came upon the earth, 
and the Echo Elves were happier than ever. They 
grew more fond of music and they would listen for 
the children's laughter. One day a little child wan- 
dered down by a pond dotted with white lilies, and 
exclaimed, " O, see the beautiful stars ! " 

And the Echo Elves answered, " Beautiful stars." 

"They've come down from the sky," said the 
child. 

" From the sky," said the Echoes. 

" They've come to play with me," said the child. 

" Play with me," answered the Echoes. 

" I love them ! I love them ! " said the child. 

" Love them ! Love them ! " said the Elves. 
And they also loved the child, for they loved all that 
was good and true. 

Many of the Echo Elves were very happy after 
the coming of people upon the earth, but the Thought 
Echoes had a hard time. They loved the good and 
beautiful thoughts, but the bad thoughts hurt them. 
Whenever a child felt cross in his heart, the Thought 
Echoes had to repeat the thought even though it 
made them sad. They could not echo it as loud as 
when all had been happy thoughts. Then other 
people had bad thoughts, and the Echoes grew so 
weak that they could only whisper. After this no 
person could hear the Thought Echoes. 

All this was long, long ago, but the Echoes still 
live on the earth ; they still love to answer the laugh- 
ter and song of the children ; they are still very fond 



220 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

of music. I am sure many of you have heard them. 
The Thought Echoes are here also ; they know what 
each one is thinking, and they whisper their thoughts. 
You and I cannot hear them, but there is One who 
hears and understands each Thought Echo. 

As the little child looked at the beautiful pond- 
lilies he thought to himself, " They are so white and 
clean." 

" White and clean," whispered the Thought 
Echoes. 

" I want to be like them," thought the child. 

" Like them," whispered the Echoes. 

The Thought Echoes would have been glad to 
shout the words for all to hear, but they could not. 
Still they knew there was One who could hear, and 
they were glad the thoughts were sweet and good as 
he would listen to them. 

If only all the thoughts were loving and gentle, 
how glad the Thought Echoes would be ! Then 
they could answer as do the other Echo Elves. 
Even more glad would be the One who hears every 
thought that the Thought Echoes repeat. It makes 
him very happy when our thoughts are right and 
beautiful. 




THE PITCHER OF TEARS. 

From, a painting hy Paul Thumann. 



LESSON XXXV. 

ELIJAH. 

" The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil 
fail" — i Kings 17 : 14. 

I wonder whether we all remember the story of 
little Samuel. He lived in the temple with the 
priest Eli, and one night God called to him. After- 
ward, when he grew to be a man, he was one of 
God's prophets. To-day we are to learn of another 
of the "men of God." This man's name was Elijah, 
and he tried to do just as God wished, but the peo- 
ple about him were very wicked. God's own chosen 
people did wrong. 

You remember that God talked with his prophets 
and told them what to do. God told Elijah that 
there was to be a famine in Canaan and there -would 
not be enough food. God told Elijah to go to a 
brook called Cherith where he would give him food 
to eat. Elijah did as God said. He had plenty of 
water to drink at the brook ; but nothing grew there, 
and what should Elijah eat ? But God had promised 
to care for him, and Elijah believed God. 

In the morning some ravens brought him bread 
and meat. At night the ravens again came with 
meat and bread. Day after day the birds brought 
food to the prophet, until at last the water in the 
brook was all dried up because there had been no 
rain. 

Then God told Elijah to go to a place called 
Zarephath and live with a widow whose home was 



222 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

there. As the prophet was on his way toward her 
house, he saw this very woman gathering small sticks 
with which to make a fire. You see she must have 
been poor. Elijah asked her to bring him a little 
water to drink, for he was very thirsty after his long 
walk. She gladly brought the water, for she had 
plenty. Then the prophet asked her to bring him 
some bread, for he was hungry. 

The poor woman felt very sad. She would have 
been glad to give him food, but how could she ? She 
said that she had not a bit of bread or cake or food 
of any kind in the house ; she had only a little bit of 
meal in a barrel, and a little oil which she used in 
mixing the meal. She told the prophet that she was 
gathering wood with which to make a fire to cook 
that last bit of meal for herself and her son, and 
that then they would have nothing left. 

Elijah told her not to be troubled about it, but to 
go and make the cake and bring him some ; and he 
said to her, " Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, 
The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall 
the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord 
sendeth rain upon the earth." 

The widow believed what the prophet told her, 
and quickly went and made the cake and brought it 
to him. Then Elijah lived with her, and what he had 
promised proved true. Each day, when she made 
the cake for them all to eat, there was as much meal 
left in the barrel after she had taken all she needed 
for their food for the day as before she took it out ; 
so they had plenty to eat. 

I cannot tell you how it happened that there was 
as much meal left in the barrel as if she had not 
taken any out, except that God made it so. He was 
taking care of his prophet Elijah, and because the 
woman was willing to share the last food she had 
with Elijah God took care of her and her son also. 



ELIJAH. 223 

Does God care for us now and give us food ? 
Who sends the warm sunshine to make the wheat 
and corn grow ? Who makes the rain come patter- 
ing down that the plants shall have water to drink 
and not be thirsty ? Could the wheat and the corn 
grow and ripen without the sunshine and rain ? 
Could we make bread or corn-cake without wheat 
and corn ? What should we do if the brooks and 
springs all dried up so that there was no water for 
us to drink ? Who made the gentle, brown-eyed 
cows that give us such sweet, good milk? 

We see that God gives us food and drink now 
just as much as he did when Elijah lived upon the 
earth so many, many years ago. He takes just as 
loving care of us now as he did then, and he is just 
as much pleased when we do right, or as much grieved 
if we do what is wrong. 

MEMORY GEM. 

The tall trees in the greenwood, 

The pleasant summer sun, 
The ripe fruits in the garden, 

He made them every one. 

OCCUPATION. 

Let the figure to represent Elijah sit by a brook 
that may be represented by a strip of paper, and let 
paper ravens fly down to him. It seems best not to 
try to illustrate the renewal of the widow's meal and 
oil, since we have not the miraculous power of re- 
filling the barrel and cruse. 

STORY. — THE OPEN DOOR. 

Poor Mrs. Van Loon was a widow. She had four 
children. The eldest was Dirk, a boy of eight years. 



224 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

One evening she had no bread, and her children 
were hungry. She folded her hands, and prayed to 
God ; for she served the Lord, and she believed that 
he loved and could help her. 

When she had finished her prayer, Dirk said to 
her, " Mother, don't we read in the Bible that God 
sent ravens to a pious man to bring him bread ? " 

" Yes," answered the mother. " But that was long, 
long ago, my dear." 

" Well," said Dirk, " then the Lord may send 
ravens now. I'll go and open the door, else they 
can't fly in." 

In a trice Dirk jumped to the door, which he left 
wide open, so that the light of the lamp fell on the 
pavement of the street. 

Shortly after, the burgomaster passed by. The 
burgomaster is the first magistrate of a Dutch town 
or village. Seeing the open door, he stopped. 

Looking into the room, he was pleased with its 
clean, tidy appearance, and with the nice little chil- 
dren who were grouped around their mother. He 
could not help stepping in, and, approaching Mrs. 
Van Loon, he said, " Eh, my good woman, why is 
your door open so late as this ? " 

Mrs. Van Loon was a little confused when she 
saw such a well-dressed gentleman in her poor room. 
She quickly rose and dropped a courtesy to the 
gentleman ; then, taking Dirk's cap from his head 
and smoothing his hair, she answered with a smile, 
" My little Dirk has done it, sir, that the ravens 
may fly in to bring us bread." 

Now, the burgomaster was dressed in a black coat 
and black trousers, and he wore a black hat. He 
was quite black all over, except his collar and shirt- 
front. 

" Ah, indeed ! " he exclaimed cheerfully. " Dirk 
is right. Here is a raven, you see, and a large one, 



ELIJAH. 225 

too. Come along, Dirk, and I'll show you where 
the bread is." 

The burgomaster took Dirk to his house, and 
ordered his servant to put two loaves and a small pot 
of butter into a basket. This he gave to Dirk, who 
carried it home as quickly as he could. When the 
other little children saw the bread, they began dan- 
cing and clapping their hands. The mother gave to 
each of them a thick slice of bread and butter, which 
they ate with the greatest relish. 

When they had finished their meal, Dirk went to 
the open door, and, taking his cap from his head, 
looked up to the sky, and said, " Many thanks, good 
Lord ! " And after having said this he shut the 
door. — John de Liefde. 



LESSON XXXVI. 
THE LITTLE MAID. 

" / will not forget thy word.' 1 '' — Ps. ug : 16. 

The Bible tells us many beautiful stories of things 
that happened long, long ago. To-day I should like 
to tell you one of these. It is about a little girl ; the 
Bible calls her a little maid, but does not tell us her 
name. She was one of the children of Israel, and 
she was a good and obedient child, who tried hard to 
help her mother. Her mother loved her greatly, and 
often talked with her. She told her little daughter 
about God and how much he had done for them, 
how he loved them and wished them to do what was 
right ; she taught her to pray always to him and to 
remember that he wished her to grow up to be a 
loving, kind, and helpful woman. 

By and by a dreadful thing happened to this little 
maid. She was taken away from her mother and 
father, from brothers and sisters, and carried off a 
long way to a land called Syria. She knew no one in 
this new place, and she was very lonely and homesick. 
She must have often wished that she could see her 
mother, even if for but a moment. 

She lived with a man named Naaman, who was a 
great man in Syria. He had helped the king, and so 
was thought much of by him. But Naaman did not 
know about God or love him, neither did the other 
people in Syria. He was not a happy man ; for he 

226 



THE LITTLE MAID. 22 7 

had a dreadful sickness, and no one had been able to 
cure him. 

The little maiden felt very sorry for her master 
Naaman, and tried to please him. She was loving 
and kind, just as her mother had taught her to be. 
She waited on his wife and always tried to do the 
very best that she could. She wished that Naaman 
might be made well. Although she was so far from 
her own people, she had not forgotten about God or 
about the many wonderful things he had done for his 
people. She knew that in her own land there was a 
prophet, one of God's men called Elisha, and that 
God often helped him to do wonderful things. 

The little maid told Naaman's wife about this 
prophet Elisha, who/ she thought, could cure her 
master Naaman of his sickness. She was so sure 
that he could do it that Naaman began to hope a 
little. He had tried many different things, and none 
of them had done any good. But it was a dreadful 
disease, and he so much wanted to be cured that he 
could not help trying this man of whom the little 
maid spoke. 

Naaman went to the house of the prophet Elisha 
in Samaria. He rode up to Elisha's house in his 
chariot drawn by fine, strong horses, and sent a 
messenger to the door. The prophet sent him word 
to go to the river Jordan and bathe in the water 
seven times. 

Do you suppose that Naaman was sick because he 
had not washed ? Do you think that washing in the 
river Jordan seven times would make him well? No, 
neither of these two things was true ; but, if Naa- 
man obeyed the prophet and bathed in the river 
seven times, God would make him well. 

After a time Naaman did as the prophet said, and 
went to the river Jordan and dipped himself in the 
water seven times ; and he was at once perfectly 



2 28 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

well. Naaman was so happy that he went back to 
the house of Elisha to thank him. He was also so 
grateful to God that he said he would always serve 
him and try to please him, and that he would teach 
all in his house to do the same. He then knew that 
God had all power and could do anything, and 
that he loved his children. 

When he returned to his own home, he was met 
by all the people, and great was the rejoicing that he 
was well again. How pleased and happy his wife 
must have been to see him well and strong once 
more ! 

We must not forget the little maid who had helped 
Naaman so much. She was very, very happy, for 
she knew that Naaman was well because she had told 
him about her God and his prophet, Elisha. She 
was happy because now Naaman loved and wor- 
shipped the true God. She was happy because she 
had done what was right, and had not forgotten what 
her mother had taught her, even when she was a 
long way off from mother, home, friends, and the 
people who knew and loved God. 

MEMORY GEM. 

Look for goodness, look for gladness ; 

You will meet them all the while ; 
If you bring a smiling visage 

To the glass, you meet a smile. 

OCCUPATION. 

Build Naaman's house in Syria, and speak of the 
maid's message to Naaman. Have Elisha's house 
built in Samaria, and represent the river Jordan by 
string or a narrow slip of paper. Let Naaman travel 
from his home to that of Elisha and then to the river 



THE LITTLE MAID. 22Q 

Jordan, in which he bathes seven times and then 
returns to his home. 



STORY.— A JAPANESE STORY. 

A long, long time ago, there dwelt a father and 
mother whose little daughter was as beautiful as the 
sunlight itself. 

But one day the father was called to the city 
where the king dwelt, and so was forced to say 
good-by to his beautiful daughter for the first time 
in her short life. 

Now the child's mother had never been away from 
her home in all her life ; and so, when the father 
went so far away, she was frightened. She was sure 
some dreadful thing would happen to him ; and still 
she was very proud, for he was the first man from 
that town that had ever been called by the king to 
the great city. 

At last the time came for the father to come back. 
The fond mother — as mothers in all time have done 
— dressed herself and the beautiful child in their 
very prettiest dresses, and together they waited his 
coming. 

By and by he came ; and he brought with him 
many presents for both mother and child, and besides 
he had marvellous stories to tell of the wonderful 
far-off city. 

" I have brought you a most strange present," said 
he to his wife. " It is called a mirror, something we 
have never had in our village, and I think no one of 
us ever even heard of one before." 

Then he gave the little box to his wife, saying, 
"Tell me what you see." 

She opened it. There lay a piece of shining 
metal. It was ornamented with frosted silver carved 
in birds and flowers. 



23O THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

" How beautiful ! " said the wife. . " How it shines ! 
and how beautiful the birds and flowers are ! " 

"Look closely into it," said the husband, "and 
tell me what else you see." 

The good wife raised it and looked into it. 

"Why," she cried, "I see a beautiful woman's 
face. How her eyes shine ! and what a bright, shin- 
ing face she has ! And her lips are moving as if she 
were talking. And — how strange ! — she has a dress 
of blue exactly like my own ! " 

How the husband laughed ! How proud he was 
that he knew something no one else in the village 
knew ! 

"Dear wife," said he, "it is your own beautiful 
face you see ; it is your own laughing eyes ; for this 
is a mirror, and it shows everything that is held 
before it." 

" How wonderful !' " was all the amazed wife could 
say ; and all day long she and her little daughter 
looked into the mirror and laughed and talked 
with it. 

But then it came into the thought of the mother, 
" How vain I am ! I am very foolish." 

And she hid the mirror away and never allowed 
herself even to take one tiny peep into it. 

Years passed away ; the little child had grown to 
be a young woman as beautiful as her own mother. 
Indeed, she was so exactly like her mother that one 
could scarcely tell them apart except that one was a 
little older than the other. 

But one day the good mother grew very ill. She 
knew that she had only a few hours to live, and her 
heart was very heavy to think that her dear child 
would so soon forget her. 

So she took the little mirror out from its hiding- 
place, and called the daughter to her. 

" Dear child," said she, " I am going away to leave 



THE LITTLE MAID. 23 1 

you. But here is a little mirror. Promise me that 
every morning and night you will look into it, for 
you will see me there, and then you will know that I 
am watching over you always. When you are happy, 
you will see that I am happy ; and, when you are 
sad, you will see that I am sad with you." 

Then the mother died, and the child was left 
alone with her father. 

But she was not sad, for she had the wonderful 
mirror. Every night and morning she looked into 
it and saw her mother's face looking up into hers. 
Every night she told the face in the mirror all that 
had happened during the day ; and the mother spoke 
back always, though the daughter could not hear 
what she said. Whenever she had joyous news to 
tell, the mother's face was always joyous ; and, when 
she had sad news to tell, the mother's face was 
always filled with sad sympathy. 

So the child lived on, growing sweeter and love- 
lier every day ; for she thought always only such 
thoughts as she would like to have her mother see, 
and did only those things that her mother would like 
to know she had done. 

" Dear mother's face grows kinder and sweeter 
every day," said she to her father one day. 

The father's eyes filled with tears, "Yes, dear 
child," said he, "it does ; and your own face grows 
every day more like your mother's. And it will be 
so always so long as you are good and true." 

One day a handsome young prince came riding 
through the town. "Who is that lovely maiden?" 
said he, as he passed the home of this sweet young 
woman. " For never in my life have I seen a face 
so sweet. Would that she might dwell with me in 
my palace and be my princess ! " 

And so it came that one day the beautiful daugh- 
ter left her father's home to be a princess. And 



232 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

never till she reached the great city where the grand 
ladies all had mirrors did she know that it was her 
own face she had been looking into all those years. 

But now she understood ; and she loved her sweet 
mother all the more now that she knew her mother 
had taken this way to help her grow good and true, 
when she could no longer herself guide and teach 
her. — From "Primary Education!' 



LESSON XXXVII. 
DANIEL. 

" Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself" — 
Dan. i : 8. 

Do you remember that, when the children of Israel 
were wandering through the wilderness, God told 
them that, if they would obey him and do just what 
he said, he would always care for them ? Many, 
many times the people forgot God ; they did not 
obey him and he was obliged to punish them. They 
finally did so much that was wrong that God let the 
king of Babylon capture the children of Israel and 
carry them off to his country to work for him. God 
felt sorry for his people, just as your father and 
mother feel sorry when you have done wrong and 
must be punished, but God knew that his children 
must suffer if they did wrong. 

One day the king of Babylon, whose name was 
Nebuchadnezzar, told one of his servants to choose 
a number of boys from among the princes of the 
land and also from among the children of Israel, who 
were all well shaped and handsome, and were quick 
to learn, and had been taught so that they already 
knew more than most of the people. The king told 
one of his wise officers to teach them all that he 
knew himself, that these youths might become the 
wisest of men. Besides this the king directed that 
the boys should have the best of food so as to grow 
strong and large. The king said that they should 
even have food from his own table. 

Among the boys chosen were four Israelites 
233 



2 34 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

with strange names. They were Daniel, Hananiah, 
Mishael, and Azariah. The prince who had the care 
of the youths gave them new names which were 
more strange than the ones they had before. He 
called them Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abed-nego. You need not try to learn all these 
strange names, but when you are older you will hear 
them again, for the Bible tells us more about them. 
We will try to remember Daniel, for he did much 
good and pleased God, obeying him even when it 
was hard to do so. 

God told his people not to eat certain kinds of 
food, and Daniel wished to do just what God said. 
Wine or any kind of liquor was not good for him. 
It would poison his blood and make him grow weak. 
He would not be as large and strong ; he could not 
learn as much ; and he would never be as noble and 
brave and great a man as if he never touched liquor. 
When the rich food, the meats and wines, were 
brought to them, Daniel told the officer that God 
did not wish them to eat that food or drink wine. 
He asked whether he and his boy friends might not 
have water to drink and vegetables to eat instead of 
the rich food and the poison wine. The officer was 
afraid that the boys would grow poor and ill-looking ; 
but Daniel said, Try us for ten days, and give us 
just water and vegetables, and then see whether we 
are not as strong and well-looking as the youths 
who eat of the king's food. Then the officer did as 
Daniel asked, and at the end of ten days they were 
fatter in flesh and fairer in the face than any of the 
other boys. 

The officer therefore no longer offered the king's 
food to these four boys, but gave them water and 
vegetables. Daniel thanked God that the officer was 
willing to give food that was good for them and would 
do them no harm. God blessed the four Israelitish 



DANIEL. 235 

youths, and gave them knowledge and skill in all 
learning and wisdom. At the end of the time that 
had been appointed the youths were all taken before 
the king, and he talked with them, and found that 
Daniel and Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, were 
stronger and wiser than any of the other youths or 
any of the wise men of his kingdom. Then the 
king Nebuchadnezzar had these four youths with 
him all the time, because among all the people there 
were none who were as learned and wise. 

Many years after Daniel lived a good man said, 
" Know ye not that ye are a temple of God ? " If 
Daniel had thought of this, he would have had an- 
other reason for not touching the liquor. If we are 
God's temples, if our bodies are for him to live in, 
we should take great care to keep them clean and 
pure. We should not be careless and do anything 
that will harm our bodies. We should keep them 
as perfect and well as possible. We should never 
allow anything to make them soiled. When men 
smoke, they make God's temple dirty and stained. 
If they drink poison of any kind, they injure this 
wonderful temple that God has given us to keep pure 
for him. Some persons do not seem to understand 
this. Let us remember and not do anything to our 
bodies that will soil them or unfit them to be God's 
temples. 

MEMORY GEM, 

As some rare perfume in a vase of clay 
Pervades it with a fragrance not its own, 

So, when thou dwellest in a mortal soul, 

All heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown. 

OCCUPATION. 

Build the king's palace, and let the young men 
appear before the king in state. 



21,6 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

STORY, — NAT'S DECISION. 

It was the day before Christmas, and Nat Sprague 
came rushing into the house, calling, " Mother, 
mother, where are you ? " 

Then he remembered that his mother had asked 
him that morning to come to her wherever she was 
instead of calling her. Thinking of his mother and 
her morning talk reminded him of his muddy shoes ; 
so he stepped back on the piazza, and carefully wiped 
them on the mat, and then went in through the sit- 
ting-room into the kitchen. Here he found his 
mother just looking into the oven, and a most de- 
licious odor of roast turkey met him as he came into 
the room. 

"Why, mother, what are you cooking the turkey 
to-day for ? " 

" I am cooking this for Mrs. Hammond. I greatly 
fear there will be little Christmas joy at her house 
to-morrow. I shall pack a basket with the turkey 
and other good things, and I thought you and I 
would go down with it this afternoon." 

" I was going to ask you if I could go over to 
Charlie Howe's, but of course I will go with you if 
you would like to have me." 

While they had been talking, Mrs. Sprague had 
put into a small basket a tumbler of jelly, another 
of cranberry sauce, a loaf of bread, a dish of butter, 
and some crisp stalks of celery. Then she carefully 
placed the turkey on a platter in another basket, and 
covered it over. 

"Will you please lock up the house, Nat, while 
I put on my hat and cloak?" said Mrs. Sprague, as 
she went briskly out of the room and up-stairs. 

The house was on the outskirts of the town, and 
was not large. There were three rooms on the 
lower floor and three above. The furniture was plain 



DANIEL. 237 

and not very new, but everything about the house 
seemed well cared for, and there was an air of com- 
fort and cheer that made one feel sure it was a 
pleasant home and a happy household. 

Soon the mother and son were walking down the 
street, each carrying a basket. They made several 
turns, and at last Mrs. Sprague said, " This is the 
place," and together they went up the stairs of a 
large building near the centre of the town. 

"What a dark, gloomy stairway ! " exclaimed Nat ; 
and, as they started up another flight, he said, " I 
am glad I do not live here." Before they were ready 
to go home Nat thought again and again, " I am glad 
I do not live here." 

Mrs. Hammond was not at home, but a boy some- 
what younger than Nat told them that she would be 
back before long, and that she was out washing for 
a lady. Mrs. Sprague began to put the food she had 
brought into the closet, while Nat talked with the 
boy, whose name he found was Will. 

There were two rooms, neither of which had a 
carpet. In one of them was an old cook-stove, 
a table, three wooden chairs, and a rocking-chair with 
one rocker broken. In the other room were two 
beds, an old bureau, and one chair. 

" Do you go to school ? " asked Nat. 

"I used to go," answered Will; "but my clothes 
are so bad I can't go now, and mamma has no money 
to buy more." 

Just then Mrs. Hammond came in, and after Mrs. 
Sprague had talked with her a few minutes she and 
Nat said good-by and started home. 

" Why are they so poor, mamma ? " asked Nat. 

" Because Mr. Hammond spends his money for 
liquor, instead of bringing it home to buy food and 
clothing for them." 

"Just think, mamma, Will says he can't go to 



238 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

school because he has no good clothes to wear. Do 
you suppose that suit I outgrew last winter would 
fit him, and could I give it to him ? " 

" I think it would be about right for him, and I 
am glad you thought of it. You can carry it down 
there to-morrow. Mr. Hammond used to receive the 
same salary that your father has, and they had a 
home as pleasant as ours ; but one day some one 
offered him a glass of wine, and he took it. He drank 
again and then again, until he began to love the taste 
of it. After that he took a glass very frequently, 
and soon lost his position. This is the reason their 
home is no longer comfortable and homelike as ours 
is. The only way is never to taste liquor of any 
kind." 

That night Nat stood looking out of the window 
toward the village. 

" I never will taste it," said Nat. " I want never to 
live as the Hammonds are obliged to live." 

— Child 's Hour. 



LESSON XXXVIII. 
ISAIAH, 

" The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad ; and the desert 
shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." — Isa. jj : i. 

God's people, the children of Israel, had done 
wrong so many times that they were not happy. 
Their hearts felt sad, and they wanted some one to 
comfort them. When you have done wrong and 
feel unhappy, when your heart beats so loud you can 
almost hear it, when a great lump comes in your 
throat, how sweet it is to climb up into mother's lap 
and tell her all about it, while she puts her arms 
about you ! She may chide you for having done 
wrong, and you feel sorry, O, so sorry ! that you 
did the naughty thing, yet how happy you are as she 
whispers sweet words of forgiveness ! Thus God's 
people wanted comfort ; they wanted forgiveness ; 
they wanted to be told again how much God loved 
them. Their hearts ached for this comfort and 
forgiveness that only God could give them, because 
they had sinned against him. 

God knew all about his people, and he knew just 
how they felt. God was sorry for his chosen people ; 
he loved them and he wished to help them. He 
sent one of his prophets to comfort them the best he 
could, and said, " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people." 
God taught this prophet Isaiah many things to tell 
the people. He wanted to help them to be better, 
to do no wrong, and to be happy. God told Isaiah 
to say, " Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall 

2 39 



24O THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

be as white as snow ; though they be red like crim- 
son, they shall be as wool." How beautiful and 
pure the snow is when it first comes ! God said 
that, even though they had done so very wrong that 
their sins were like scarlet, yet he would make them 
as clean and white as the snow. 

How could this be ? God was going to send a 
little child, his own dear Son, to live upon the earth. 
This little child would be so good, so loving and 
kind, that he would help to make all those about 
him good and pure. The life of this little child 
would be so sweet that it would make all the people 
happy. It would comfort them ; it would make their 
hearts so glad and happy that they would be like a 
wilderness where nothing had ever grown, which 
suddenly became full of beautiful flowers and was 
covered with roses. God said that the coming to 
the world of this beautiful little babe would bless 
the people so greatly that it would be like the whole 
country beginning to bloom and everything singing 
together for joy. 

God told Isaiah to tell the people that the child 
would make weak people strong, blind people to see, 
deaf people to hear, and would bring comfort to all 
who were sad. The little babe would himself bear 
the sorrows and griefs of the people that they might 
be comforted and joyful. 

I want to tell you what the good prophet said 
about him, " For unto us a child is born, unto us a 
son is given ; and the government shall be upon his 
shoulder [that means that he should care for all the 
people] : and his name shall be called Wonderful, [is 
not that a beautiful name for him ? for would it not 
be wonderful to have a little babe bring such joy 
and comfort to all the people ? ] Counsellor [for he 
should tell the people what to do], Mighty God [he 
was God's own Son], Everlasting Father [he would 



ISAIAH. 24I 

be as kind to all as any father could be], Prince of 
Peace [for he would bring peace and happiness upon 
the earth]." 

Was it any wonder that the people began to look 
and wish for the time when the little babe should 
come upon the earth ? How very kind of God to 
give them this wonderful promise to cheer them and 
to help them to do what was right until the child 
should come ! The people were so sad and unhappy 
that they could hardly wait for the coming of the prom- 
ised babe. They hardly knew what they wanted, 
because of the bad feelings that came from the 
wrong things that they had done ; but they felt sure 
that, when God sent the promised child, all would be 
right. 

Many years did the prophet Isaiah continue to tell 
the people about the wonderful child that should 
come, and afterward God sent other prophets with 
the same story. The people all believed that he 
would come sometime, but it seemed a very long 
time to wait. After a good many years some of the 
people almost forgot about it, but many remembered 
and still waited and watched and hoped and prayed 
for the coming of the dear little babe who would 
make them all happy and would help them to do 
right. 

MEMORY GEM. 

By cool Siloam's shady rill 

How fair the lily grows ! 
How sweet the breath, beneath the hill, 

Of Sharon's dewy rose ! 

Lo ! such the child whose early feet 

The paths of peace have trod ; 
Whose secret heart, with influence sweet, 

Is upward drawn to God. 

— Reginald Heber. 



242 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

OCCUPATION. 

Have the sand-board with nothing in it but the 
sand. Our hearts are sometimes like the sand where 
nothing grows. Put into the sand beautiful sprigs 
of green and lovely flowers, to show how great a 
change God can make in the hearts through his 
Son. 



STORY. — LITTLE JOLLIBY'S STORY. 

Once upon a time there crept into fairy-land a 
poor little child who had never had very good times. 
His eyes were not very bright, because he did not 
have much that was bright to see, and his face was 
thin because he was not fed as some children are. 
His heart ached because no one loved him particu- 
larly well, — no one he knew of, — and he was tired 
because he had come a long way and it was by mis- 
take, he thought, that he had wandered into fairy- 
land. 

But the child was there, and was too surprised and 
happy to want to go away. He lay down on a bed 
of thick green moss, and was thinking what he would 
say if the fairies should see him there, and wonder- 
ing if they would drive him away when all at once 
the fairy queen shook her wand and it was still 
everywhere in a minute. Then she said : " Listen 
to me, little spirits ; there is a young stranger come 
to fairy-land, a young stranger with eyes and heart 
all full of wants. Go, little spirits, find out, if you 
can, what it is the little wanderer is wishing for ; 
then come and bring me word." 

Everything grew so lovely right away that the 
child thought it must be heaven. The gentle cup 
fairies carried him sweet drinks and pleasant food, 
and the child thought he would never be hungry 



ISAIAH. 243 

again. He used to think that, if he could have all 
he wanted to eat, happiness would come right straight 
off. But now he had feasted at the fairies' table ; 
yet he still had a great want left in his heart. So 
the cup fairies went and told the queen. 

Then she shook her wand again, and the breath 
from somewhere set the silver white harps playing, 
and the song fairies poured out their lovely songs 
and the air was full of music. The child thought 
again it must be heaven ; but after hearing the 
prettiest songs the little fairies could sing there was 
still a great want left in the little child. So they 
had to go and tell the queen. 

She held up her wand again, and flocks of glan- 
cing midges danced on cobwebs. Splendid little 
birds of blue and gold twittered close by, and let the 
child look into their lovely eyes. They sung to the 
patter of the midges' feet, and everything in fairy-land 
did its best to please the child. But still his heart 
wanted more. So the midges and the birds and the 
fairies had to go and tell the queen. 

She stood up on her pretty throne, and it was as 
still as still could be. " My little spirits," she said, 
" we can't satisfy this child that has come to fairy- 
land. We have fed him, danced and sung for him. 
But hear me ; there are things that fairies cannot do 
until they meet the true spirits sent on the errands 
we all know about, and get them to help us." 

It grew so still that not the tiniest thing stirred. 
In the air were lots of fairies that stopped flying 
when the queen rose on her throne, and there they 
stayed, their wings all spread, the little feet all quiet. 
The harps shone white and bright, but did not make a 
sound. Everything was listening. Even the midges 
peeping out of the flowers held their golden heads 
still and listened. 

The queen's voice was very soft and low as she 



244 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

said, " I must find a little bird of paradise and send a 
message to the Loveliest One." Then every fairy 
bent its sweet little head, and crossed its hands over 
its breast, and partly folded its shining wings. 

What the child saw he never knew ; no place was 
seen, no person came, but the sky was like one great 
rose, and it grew shiny everywhere. Then from one 
speck of the sky brightest of all, that seemed to 
open, something like a white angel flew right into the 
child's heart, and he felt all at once that if he spoke 
the white angel would answer. 

" Where am I ? " said the child. 

" Close by the kingdom of heaven," said the angel. 

"But I can't see it." 

" No ; not until the Loveliest One opens your eyes." 

"Who is the Loveliest One? " 

" The kind, sweet Spirit that watches the children 
and draws them until they love him best of all." 

"But I can't see him." 

" You do not need to, child ; he is here all the 
same, though." 

" But how does he know me ? I 'm little and poor 
and almost nobody in the great, great world." 

" Hark," said the angel. " The Loveliest One is 
the Christmas Child — he who came to the world 
on Christmas morning. He came to save the chil- 
dren and every one, and wants everybody to love 
him. Everything good and sweet in the world comes 
from the Loveliest One. There is n't a child in all 
the wide, wide world so small or poor or lonesome 
but the Loveliest One knows all about it. He goes 
into all the rich folks' houses, into the homes of 
friendless children, and into the small, dark places 
where people think no one sees them or cares any- 
thing about them. He loves the children." — Ar- 
ranged from " Little Jolliby s Christmas" by Harriet 
A. Che ever. Congregational Publishing Society. 







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ST. JOHN AND THE LAMB. 

From a painting by Murillo. 



LESSON XXXIX. 
JOHN. 

" The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way 
of the Lord." — Luke j> : 4. 

Long after Isaiah lived there was a man named 
Zacharias, who was one of God's priests. As Zach- 
arias was standing at the altar burning incense, the 
angel of the Lord stood before him and told him 
that he should have a son, and should call him John. 
The angel told him that this little son would be 
greatly blessed and that many people would be glad 
because of him. Zacharias was very happy, because 
he had always wished for a son, and he thought 
much about what the angel had said. 

When John was old enough to understand about 
it, his father told him about the promise of the little 
babe that should come, who would be so loving that 
all the world would be better. The boy John lived 
out-of-doors a great deal. He often looked up into 
the beautiful blue sky and thought of the promise 
of one who would bless all the people. When he 
walked through the woods, he wondered when the 
little babe would come, and wished that he might see 
him. 

Many of the people who knew about the promise 
thought that the little child would grow to be a man, 
and that then he would be their king. They thought 
he would be very rich and powerful, that he would 
make their nation the greatest nation upon the earth. 

245 



246 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

They forgot that Solomon, the wise man, had said 
that wisdom was better than riches or power. 

John did not believe that the little babe would be- 
come a king and sit upon a throne. He knew that 
that would not make the people happy. He knew 
that the only way the children of Israel could be 
always glad and happy was by being good and kind. 
John thought that the little child*who was to come 
would be so sweet and generous and good that it 
would help all those about him to be the same. 
John knew that he would be perfect ; he would know 
and do only the good. 

God put it into the heart of John to tell the people 
that the one who was to come would be perfect, that 
he would be holy and pure, that he would always do 
what was right. So John went from one place to 
another, telling all whom he met about the little 
babe who was to come, who would be so loving 
and sweet that it would help others to be like him. 
John also told them that, if they wished to become 
happy, they must try to do the right. They, too, must 
be loving and kind and unselfish. The little babe 
who had been promised could not make them happy 
if they did wrong things all the time. They must 
try to do right, and, if sometimes they did some- 
thing wrong, he would forgive them and comfort 
them and they would be happy again. But they 
must feel sorry for what they had done, and try to 
do better the next time. 

Many of the people believed what John told them, 
and were very glad. They tried to do what was 
right and to be kind and loving, unselfish and gentle, 
to those about them ; and soon they were much 
happier than ever before. They found that it was 
the best thing to do to all about them just as they 
would like to be done by. 

The people who listened to John and believed what 



JOHN. 247 

he said about the coming of the little babe began to 
watch and wait for his coming. They often prayed 
that he would come soon and that they might be 
like him. Some of the people thought that perhaps 
John was the one who had been promised, but John 
said, "No." He was sent to tell the people about 
one who should come afterward who would be much 
greater than he. John sometimes did wrong, even 
though he tried to do what was right ; but the little 
child who had been promised would never do any- 
thing wrong. He should be all kindness and love. 

MEMORY GEM. 

Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever ; 

Do noble things, not dream them all day long ; 
And so make life, death, and the vast forever 

One grand, sweet song. 

— Cha?'les Kingsley. 

OCCUPATION. 

Have an object, to represent John, wandering along 
in the wilderness. Let other men join him from the 
different villages and towns, which can be built or 
not as the teacher desires. 

STORY. — THE NEW SONG. 

Long, long ago, when little children first came on 
this earth, mothers used to sing to them. Mothers 
still sing to their little ones, for there is nothing a 
babe loves better than to hear its mother's voice 
singing. Sometimes a mother sings a hymn ; some- 
times she hums without any words ; sometimes the 
song trills and warbles like a bird ; but we love them 
all. How pleasant it is when we have been hurt, or 
are tired, or want to be comforted, to climb on 



24S. THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

mother's knee, feel her arms about us, and hear her 
sing some sweet little air ! Children have always 
loved music, and we hope they always will. 

Once a promise was given of a new song. The 
promise was made so long ago that no one remembers 
when it was given, but all the people believed it and 
began to listen for the song. It was to be so lovely 
that it would make every one happy who heard and 
understood it. It would make even those who were 
sad smile. It would make the children happy from 
morning till night. Sometimes it seemed to some 
mother as if her little child must have heard it as 
she looked into his happy eyes and saw his sweet 
smile. 

The people often listened for it even when they 
were busy. The children listened, too. Sometimes 
they thought the birds would bring it. In the 
spring it seemed as if the bluebird had brought it, 
but still they must wait. 

Many wonderful instruments were made in the 
hope that they would bring the song. Beautiful 
golden harps made sweet music, but the music did 
not always bring happiness. Many people made new 
music, and it was sweet and brought pleasure, but 
it was not the song that had been promised. 

A new song seemed to come into the heart of 
some one, and he sung it over and over to himself 
until he became very happy, and then the song was 
gone and he could not remember it. He wondered 
whether that had been the song for which they were 
looking, and whether he had lost it. Even little 
children had this feeling at times. 

Many years passed, and still the people waited and 
listened for the new song. At last a little child was 
born who was gentle and kind, so loving and unself- 
ish that he made all about him happy. When he 
came into the room, people were glad just to see his 



JOHN. 249 

happy face. When he went to his work, it was 
always with a song. At evening he would steal 
out of the house to the open fields and sing until all 
the people stopped to listen. 

After a time others began to hum the same tune, 
until they had learned to sing it ; and the more they 
sung the song the happier they grew. What had 
seemed hard to do before now became easy. They 
loved to make those about them happy. It seemed 
to them as if the sun shone all the time, and as if 
the birds sung sweeter than ever before, because 
they were so glad. 

As the little child grew older, there came a new 
light in his face because of the beautiful song he sung. 
It made every one love him ; it kept him from doing 
wrong. His mother thought much about it, and 
wondered whether it could be that her son had the 
new song for which people had listened so long. 
The more she thought about this, the more she 
hoped that to her child had come this wonderful 
gift. As she saw how it blessed him, how glad and 
happy it made him all the time, she thought it must 
be true. When she saw how others began to sing 
the song and to grow loving and joyous, then she 
knew that the song had really come which would 
sometime make all the world happy. 



LESSON XL. 

THE BABE JESUS. 

" A little child shall lead them." — Is a. u : 6. 

At length the little babe who had been looked for 
so long came. The people had waited so many years 
that some of them had grown tired of watching for 
the child, others had almost forgotten about it ; but 
some were still praying for his coming, and still 
others thought that he would soon come because 
they had heard and talked with John about him. 

You remember that the child who had been prom- 
ised had many names given him. I am going to tell 
you two more of his names. They are the ones that 
the children know and love the best. One name is 
Jesus, and the other is the Christ-child. 

Before the Christ-child was born, Mary, his mother, 
had to take a long journey with her husband Joseph. 
The only way the people could travel then was on 
horseback, on a camel, or upon a donkey, or to walk. 
Mary was very poor, and she had no horse or camel. 
The Bible does not tell us whether she walked or 
whether she had a donkey upon which to ride. It 
was many miles from Nazareth where Mary lived 
to Bethlehem where they must go, and Mary was 
very tired before they reached Bethlehem. They had 
travelled all day, and it was almost dark before they 
reached the town. They went to an inn, hoping 
that they could stay there for the night, but found 
it full. There was no room for them. A great many 

250 



8 a 



THE BABE JESUS. 2$ I 

people had come to Bethlehem and wished to spend 
the night there. The keeper felt sorry for Joseph 
and Mary because she was so tired and had travelled 
so far. He told Joseph that back of the inn was a 
stable, and if they wished they could go there and 
lie down and rest. Joseph was very glad to find any 
place of rest for Mary, who was young and not very 
strong. 

The keeper led them through the inn and up a 
steep hill at the back, where they found a large cave 
dug in the rock. There were mangers about the 
cave where the woolly sheep and big, brown-eyed 
cows were fed. Straw lay about the cave, and upon 
a heap Mary lay down, tired out. 

And there in the cave, by and by, the wonderful 
baby came, the child that had been promised and 
whom so many were looking for. 

The angels in heaven knew about the gentle child, 
and were glad that he had come to help the people 
on the earth to be good. They sung together for 
joy, while the stars shone brightly for they knew the 
Christ-child was born. 

There lay the beautiful babe, with a manger for 
his bed, and cows and sheep about him. He looked 
like other babies. He was very sweet and pure, as 
are all little babies that have just come from heaven. 
His mother watched him and loved him, and by and 
by many people came to see him, for you know they 
had been waiting for him to come to the earth. 
The people in the inn came to see him ; many people 
from the town came also ; and even the shepherds 
left their sheep on the hillsides and came to the 
cave to see the little Jesus. When the people had 
seen him and loved him, they went away again, and 
he was left with his mother Mary, who loved him 
most of all. 

Jesus grew to be such a sweet, wise, loving boy, 



252 THE BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

so tender and helpful, and he said and did so many 
good and beautiful things, that every one loved him 
who knew him. 

He loved little children like you very much, and 
often took them up in his arms and talked with them. 
He loves you just as much now, and is just as 
anxious to help children to do right and to be happy as 
he was then. When you think of doing something 
wrong, and a little voice inside seems to whisper, 
" No, that is not right, do not do it," then you hear 
Jesus' voice trying to help you to be happy and good. 

So the loving child was born so many, many years 
ago. The little babe who had so long been promised 
was born to make people more happy and good be- 
cause he was so patient and kind, so wise and loving. 
The people who know him love him better and better 
each year. Because we are so glad that the Christ- 
child came on the earth, we each year remember 
him on his birthday. We try to make all those about 
us happy on that day because he has made us so 
happy and glad. We think his birthday the best day 
of all the year. It is Christmas, Christ's day, his 
birthday, the day when the Christ-child came to the 
earth. He was the best Christmas present the great 
world ever had. 

MEMORY GEM. 

Little Christ-child ! 

He was given on Christmas Day ; 

In his name let 

Children give the best they may. 

OCCUPATION. 

Build the cave in the side-hill, and if possible make 
this large enough to place toy cows and sheep beside 
the figures to represent Joseph and Mary and the 



THE BABE JESUS. 253 

infant Jesus. Build also one or more mangers, and 
let the child lie in one. 



STORY, -GLORY TO GOD. 

One beautiful night long ago there was music 
everywhere. The bright stars up in the dark sky 
were softly singing together. The night-blooming 
flowers, the primrose and the honeysuckle, sung 
sweetly together, but so low that men never heard 
them. Hill whispered to hill while men and children 
lay asleep in their houses. 

Out on the plains were the shepherds taking care 
of their sheep. They were used to the night world 
so different from what we see it in the daytime. 
They knew how the plants looked when asleep, — the 
poppy, the pink, the geranium. They often watched 
the night-moths circling about an open blossom and 
dipping down into the heart of it, sipping the honey 
with trembling delight. They knew the look of the 
dark mountains looming up against the darker sky. 
They watched each night over the sheep as they lay 
huddled together and slumbered, but they knew not 
of the music that floated all about them. 

They heard the birds' good-night as they sleepily 
tucked their heads under their wings, and their glad 
burst of song in the morning, and even an occasional 
chirp in the middle of the night as one turned on 
his perch. Sometimes a low bleat came from a sheep 
or one of the lambs as it nestled closer to the mother. 

The stars looked kindly down at the shepherds ; 
the sheep lay quietly at their feet, and they talked 
softly together, when from the dark sky above them 
came wonderful, beautiful music such as had never 
been heard before, — " Glory to God in the highest." 
The shepherds started to their feet ; the sheep awoke 
from their slumber; and the hills echoed. Where 



254 TH E BIBLE IN LESSON AND STORY. 

all before had seemed to the shepherds stillness and 
quiet, now was this glorious music, " Glory to God 
in the highest, and on earth peace among men in 
whom he is well pleased." 

What did the song mean ? the shepherds wondered 
together. The stars could have told them, or the 
trees or the flowers. They had been singing about 
it, but the shepherds had not heard them. They 
had been glad for joy, but the shepherds had not 
known. They knew that a little child, the sweetest 
and best in heaven, had come to this dear old earth 
to teach us how to be happy ; they knew that God 
had sent his own dear Son as a baby from his 
heavenly home to bring us gladness. 

" Glory to God in the highest," came the new 
song ; and the angels in heaven sung also, " Glory 
to God in the highest ; " and the stars looked down 
and were happy. 

Ever since that time the beautiful flowers have 
looked up into children's faces to see whether 
they were trying to be like the child God had sent. 
When they find one unselfish and forgiving, they 
sing to themselves the sweet song, " Glory to God 
in the highest." 

We cannot hear them sing, but we feel the joy 
in our hearts. Since the wonderful music came the 
stars have looked down on the earth into the chil- 
dren's faces as they lay asleep. Each night they 
have looked to see how many children have tried to 
be loving and gentle like Jesus, and many times have 
they sung, " Glory to God in the highest." 

You and I, dear children, can bring a bit of the 
wonderful music if we try to make those about us 
happy. We can make music in the hearts of father, 
of mother, and of Jesus. When we try to do right 
as he did, then again the stars, the flowers, and the 
mountains will sing, " Glory to God in the highest." 



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